Selfie by Will Storr Summary
Overview of Selfie
In "Selfie," Will Storr brilliantly dissects our obsession with perfection, tracing Western individualism from Aristotle to Instagram. Why are millions suffering from self-loathing in our selfie culture? Discover how neoliberalism and social media created a crisis of perfectionism we can't escape.
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Key takeaways
When Your Reflection Becomes Your Prison
Have you ever spent hours crafting the perfect Instagram caption, only to delete the entire post because it didn't get enough likes in the first five minutes? Or felt your stomach drop when scrolling through a friend's vacation photos, suddenly convinced your own life is painfully ordinary? We live in an age where a 22-year-old takes selfies at her godmother's funeral because, as she explains without irony, "I look good. It's always appropriate." This isn't just vanity run amok-it's the symptom of something far more dangerous. Behind the filters and carefully curated feeds lies a mental health crisis decades in the making, where the gap between who we are and who we think we should be has become a chasm swallowing lives whole. Hospital admissions for eating disorders among young women jumped 172% in a single decade. Self-harm reports doubled. Young men increasingly suffer from muscle dysmorphia, injecting steroids to match impossible ideals. The woman who woke up furious in a hospital bed after swallowing ninety pills had spent her entire life trying to become the person others expected-first her mother's version, then her husband's-always falling devastatingly short. Her story reveals the lethal endpoint of what researchers call "social perfectionism": the belief that others demand perfection from you, making your worth entirely dependent on fulfilling impossible roles. We're not just dealing with low self-esteem anymore. We're watching people destroy themselves trying to become fantasy versions that can never exist.
The Tribal Brain That Won't Let Us Rest
The Cultural Waters We Swim In
From Glory to Guilt: Christianity's Transformation
The American Self: Unlimited Potential, Unlimited Pressure
The Myth That's Killing Us
Breaking Free: Living With Your Actual Self
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"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
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"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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