We were never supposed to see our own faces this much — From mirrors to Zoom calls and TikToks, we are constantly faced with our own reflections, and it is completely changing the way we conceive o...

drahardja , 10 months ago

I can smell the bullshit before even clicking the link. We aren’t “meant” to do anything. We adapt.

FauxPseudo , 10 months ago

We were never meant to drive cars or flying planes either. Yet we, ah, find a way.

MonkderZweite , 10 months ago

Um, mirrors are a commodity since centuries…

yata , 10 months ago

And puddles of water for even longer.

Kolanaki , 10 months ago

But you weren’t supposed to look! That’s what God told Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

“Gaze not upon your reflection, for you will find yourself ugly and unworthy of love.”

“Aren’t we made in your image?”

“…That’s it! You’re banished from the garden!”

Da_Boom , 10 months ago

Mirrors have existed for hundreds of years. And before then, if people wanted to see their reflection, all it took was to look in a still bowl of water under the right lighting.

No what’s really changed the way we conceive ourselves is the fashion industry, and their advertising, the use a number of tactis to make you think you need ___ product, Or in some countries ___ procedure. From celebrity sponsored brands to unrealistic Photoshopping. To the underweight models on the catwalk.

It’s not just 1 thing that’s made vanity a social necessity, and pushing the idea that natural looks are inherently ugly is just rediculous and wrong.

My sister had her makeup done for her engagement party recently. I had to resist the urge to say my true opinion on it, as she never usually wears makeup that thick and her fake eyelashes just looked out of place. I wasn’t used to it. The moment she ripped them off (with an audible sigh of relief I might add - why you need to sacrifice your comfort for looks makes no sense to me) she looked 10x better, and more like herself.

NigelFrobisher , 10 months ago

I’m still constantly surprised by my own appearance.

fruitleatherpostcard , 10 months ago

Yeah me too but instead of ‘surprised’ read ‘horrified’.

9point6 , 10 months ago

You can also just turn off self view in zoom and most other video conferencing tools. Helpful if you find seeing yourself distracting.

Not sure if that’s relatively common knowledge or not.

I have mine set to show me a preview before I join a call so I can have a quick check that there’s nothing egregiously wrong and then no self view in the call itself

CosmoNova , 10 months ago

Sounds like the usual fear mongering of technology similar to „humans weren‘t made to drive steam lokomotives. Those incredible speeds will surely drive us all insane!“ I mean they‘re citing Ian Mortimer who has proven again and again that he does not understand nor care about human behavior throughout history. It isn‘t surprising someone who thinks we all crawled in the mud just centuries earlier would be overwhelmed with our own mirror image but that‘s far from reality.

Hanabie , 10 months ago

People could see their reflection in the water long before they climbed down from the branches.

kambusha , 10 months ago

The article already touches on that. As with almost everything, a little is ok but too much will negatively impact you.

NegativeInf , 10 months ago

Narcissus comes to mind.

killeronthecorner , 10 months ago

Literally the second paragraph of the article.

Macaroni_ninja , 10 months ago

How many times a day do you see your reflection in water? Just because it exists doesn’t compare how many times you see your own image on a digital screen.