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Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us Kindle Edition

by Will Storr (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 784 ratings
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“An intriguing odyssey” though the history of the self and the rise of narcissism (The New York Times).

Self-absorption, perfectionism, personal branding—it wasn’t always like this, but it’s always been a part of us. Why is the urge to look at ourselves so powerful? Is there any way to break its spell—especially since it doesn’t necessarily make us better or happier people? Full of unexpected connections among history, psychology, economics, neuroscience, and more, Selfie is a “terrific” book that makes sense of who we have become (NPR’s On Point). Award-winning journalist Will Storr takes us from ancient Greece, through the Christian Middle Ages, to the self-esteem evangelists of 1980s California, the rise of the “selfie generation,” and the era of hyper-individualism in which we live now, telling the epic tale of the person we all know so intimately—because it’s us.

“It’s easy to look at Instagram and selfie-sticks and shake our heads at millennial narcissism. But Will Storr takes a longer view. He ignores the easy targets and instead tells the amazing 2,500-year story of how we’ve come to think about our selves. A top-notch journalist, historian, essayist, and sleuth, Storr has written an essential book for understanding, and coping with, the 21st century.” —Nathan Hill, New York Times-bestselling author of The Nix

“This fascinating psychological and social history . . . reveals how biology and culture conspire to keep us striving for perfection, and the devastating toll that can take.”—The Washington Post

“Ably synthesizes centuries of attitudes and beliefs about selfhood, from Aristotle, John Calvin, and Freud to Sartre, Ayn Rand, and Steve Jobs.” —USA Today

“Eminently suitable for readers of both Yuval Noah Harari and Daniel Kahneman, Selfie also has shades of Jon Ronson in its subversive humor and investigative spirit.” —Bookseller

“Storr is an electrifying analyst of Internet culture.” —Financial Times

“Continually delivers rich insights . . . captivating.” —Kirkus Reviews
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Editorial Reviews

Review

. . . [P]lacing this symbol of millennial narcissism in a larger cultural story . . . Selfie traces selfie culture to the self-esteem movement.-- "The New Yorker"

About the Author

Will Storr is an award-winning journalist and novelist whose work has appeared in the Guardian, Sunday Times, The New Yorker, and the New York Times. His books include Selfie: How the West Became Self-Obsessed and The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the Enemies of Science (Overlook/Abrams Press). His writing courses are among the most in-demand offerings of the Guardian Masterclasses and the Faber Academy. He lives in Kent, England.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07MXBRVZY
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ ABRAMS Press; 1st edition (April 2, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 2, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2565 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 784 ratings

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Will Storr

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
784 global ratings
Fascinating Read - Enjoyable
5 Stars
Fascinating Read - Enjoyable
This is an engaging history of psychology and how the self esteem movement was promoted without proper scientific studies. The author really goes into depth with his research there. He explains how this led to the change in economics which took protections and limitations off business. It explains why there are lower salaries now, little customer service and how the onus of being successful is more and more on the individual. I felt connected to the author as I read it and wanted to meet him. Not every history book does that! His stories are fascinating.
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Top reviews from the United States

BobbyDart
5.0 out of 5 stars Dense but insightful
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2018
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Selfie is an incredibly dense and information filled journey to a satisfying ending. Will Storr clearly did an immense amount of research for his latest book. Traveling through history he shows how various people and cultures have impacted the way we think and view ourselves. The journey has a lot of insight into the way we think.

However, as a mental health therapist and a Christian, much of his views are lacking in depth and understanding of the complexities of both topics. Throughout the book he mentions therapy and alludes to Christianity being a factor in the way we think. His simplified versions of both topics leads to misunderstandings of both topics. Both therapy and Christianity are meant to be messages of self-acceptance regardless of our imperfections which is not reflected in his writings. Much to his admission at the end of the book, Storr has a lot of knowledge on the subjects but little depth and it shows. Though, in my opinion it doesn't undermine his overarching message.

Regardless though, Storr concludes the book with a message of self-acceptance and hope. This message is definitely not aimed at accepting our strengths but rather accepting our limitations and weaknesses. Overall, whether or not you agree with his interpretations of certain topics, his underlying message is much needed in a time where perfectionism is the standard.
22 people found this helpful
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Hande Z
4.0 out of 5 stars We, the self
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2017
Will Storr is a delightful story teller. The theme of this book has been gaining currency in the past few years largely in connection with our reliance on technology and the age of digitalisation. Storr’s book focuses on the concept of our ‘self’ and how we have changed the way we conceptualise ourselves in this new age. He begins with a little history of our sense of self-worth and the trends in suicide. We are increasingly becoming ‘social perfectionists’, having greater, perhaps inflated, sense of our self and our capabilities as well as our responsibilities. But because Storr fuses interviews with relevant people, he points out that some, do not think that the problem lies in our becoming more social perfectionists but that it is our environment that is changing. He quotes Professor Gordon Flett: ‘In part, that’s because of the internet and the social media. First, when a public figure makes a mistake there seems to be a much stronger, more intense backlash. So kids growing up now see what happens to people who make a mistake and they’re very fearful of it.’

Storr examines the self in context. He seems to incline to the modern view that we are not the result of nature versus nature. He thinks nature and nurture are ‘not in competition, but in conspiracy’. He examines the fact that easterners and westerners do not just think about the world differently, but they actually see different worlds. Storr discusses the vanishing of the era of ‘character’ and the ‘arrival of the age of personality’.

His chapter on ‘The Digital Self’ digs into the acute problems we see in politics in the past couple of years and the rise of populism. ‘To many on the left, immersed in the shibboleths of identity politics, these were outrages appeals to old fashioned racism, so obviously abhorrent that surely no sensible people would be able to look past them. Yet different ears heard a different story. They heard change-making outsiders scorning the establishment. They heard brave rebels disparaging the smug and ‘politically correct’ educated class who routinely ignored them in favour of minorities and then patronized and insulted them when they complained.’

Some readers may find parts of the book a little rambling, some stories a little too long or disconnected, but that is the style of this book – weaving stories and interviews with Storr’s own ideas. A reader who is irked by this style may give this book a three-star review, but otherwise, the substance is lucid and full of information and insight.
9 people found this helpful
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wendy coles
5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2018
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I loved this book. The title put me off so I stayed away from it for a while however, when marooned with it on a ship for 10 days, I discovered that it was fantastic! For those of us who have spent many years in the field of psychology, Will Storr points out the pitfalls of our heroes' theories and how it led us to today. Its an easy, entertaining read. Go for it.
8 people found this helpful
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N. R.
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly well-written exploration of the current self-obsession that seems to permeate all levels of our social media culture.
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2018
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Will Storr's writing is the work of a master, and he exceeded my expectations in his search to experience, research and chronicle a complicated, nuanced phenomenon of past and current western culture. I found this book riveting, entertainingly humorous, terrifying in its implications, but then, in the end, it brought me relief from the pressures of the Social Media age.
2 people found this helpful
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Ira M. Edwards
3.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening, but with two gaps
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2019
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Coming from a culture (Iowa farm, 1930's) where conversation was polite and people cared for each other, I was not pleased with the frequent obscene language, mostly not needed to make the points. The various cultures described showed little caring and much competition, insults and aggression.
As a long-time student of human thinking, I was not surprised by the negative effect of pushing "self-esteem." I learned more about how elite academia can be cruel. I have seen it in my own higher education, but not the extremes Storr described.
First gap: The second largest "culture" in the world, an aggressive, intimidating religious-political world power that claims superiority of its people, based on unchangeable scripture, should have been included, though that would have brought much condemnation of the book. This left the book incomplete.
Second gap: Though Storr included a Christian group noted for self-hate, he did not include mine.
I follow Jesus. I don't need self-esteem, because I have Jesus-esteem. He regards me with wonderful value. I am a unique creation, with no other like me ever. My body is wonderfully made (as I saw in my study of medical biochemistry) and it is to be treated well. He fills me with compassion for suffering people. Working together, we accomplish much worldwide in relieving suffering and offering hope. We live with joy and love.
We are human, capable of all he evil that can be imagined, and every one of us has failed. We have also been forgiven, regenerated, and seek to live above those failures, in the here and now presence of our Living Lord.
12 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Fernando GRV
5.0 out of 5 stars Intimate journey through the self
Reviewed in Mexico on December 22, 2022
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It turned out to be a very enjoyable reading, my favorite of the year. What I liked most was the weaving of the self's evolution with his own personal background.
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Markku Ojanen
5.0 out of 5 stars Great reading
Reviewed in Germany on June 30, 2021
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This book is an amazingly comprehensive description of self. It covers history, culture, psychology, sociology and biology and also a lot of personal experiences. Perfectionism seems to be a major factor in psychological problems, like depression, anxiety and even suicide. After reading this and various other similar books leaning toward pessimism I wonder why people say in surveys that they are happy or even very happy (happiness is one of my research areas). This is a paradoxal situation. People have a lot of serious problems, but they are happy. I do not have a good answer to this paradox.
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Saif Shaikh
3.0 out of 5 stars Its a genuine copy .
Reviewed in India on January 26, 2021
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The book seems to be old but in Ok condition.
One person found this helpful
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Tom
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting
Reviewed in Canada on May 9, 2018
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Engrossing, interesting insights into our culture. A must read if you’re trying to understand what is driving our world today.
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Amazonian Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, immersive and just a little horrifying
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 12, 2019
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Selfie is a compelling and immersive investigation into the rise of the Western world's love of the self. Starting in Ancient Greece with Aristotle, Will Storr tracks the rise of our self regard and the equivalent fall of our belief in community and the common good.
It's always fascinating and highlights many things that I either knew nothing about or had never considered seriously before. More often than not is is also highly disturbing. He examines the Self Esteem movement that started in California (where else!). The belief is that many of society's ills such as alcoholism and unemployment are due to low self esteem and that by raising it in everybody we will create a society of well-balanced productive individuals. When backed up by some dodgy reporting of scientific research, this soon began to influence government policy in America and the UK. Unfortunately having self esteem that outstrips personal ability actually leads to narcissism and in turn to depression or violence and increasing suicide rates. He then links this to the self-serving neoliberalism so loved of Thatcher and Reagan; free markets, the reduction of state welfare, citizens redefined as consumers, the rich getting richer while the poor get poorer, and if you are one of the have-nots, then it's your own fault for being unenterprising. Depressing stuff that ultimately leads us to identity politics and the horrible mess we find ourselves in today where a repellent narcissist like Trump can become president.
As well as being an in-depth, well researched and absorbing piece of reporting, it is clearly also a personal journey - in places it's extremely candid as he bares his soul in situations he understandably finds very uncomfortable. Highly recommended.
8 people found this helpful
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