I hosted an Empathy Circle with 3 wonderful individuals. We were four in total and while I knew everyone, they didn’t know each other at the beginning. We used a recent blog post I wrote as a topic for discussion: Selfie-Time to Self Reflection. The conversation rolled around about how much our sense of time has morphed, how we are focusing more on what matters, moving away from the artifice of perfect Instagrammable moments to a greater time for self-reflection.
And yet…
As the conversation continued, a new thought emerged. In this pandemic lockdown period, we’ve never spent more time looking at ourselves. I know that certainly is true for me. In the past, if I never worry about applying makeup, I shaved with a mirror once daily. I might have glanced at the mirror before heading out for a meeting. I might have indulged myself in a few selfies (you can find proof of these in my iPhone, with a curated set on Instagram). However, the times I really looked at myself in the mirror (granted I’m no longer a self-obsessed teen) were rare.
And today?
There’s more time on hand to pause and reflect. And that self-reflection happens not just in the quiet moments. On any given day under this lockdown period (for us in London it began on March 23rd), I seem to spend 2 to 4 hours on Zoom or its equivalent. In the vast majority of cases, I have my video on. As a result, I am faced with seeing my own face onscreen… far more than in the past.
Ironically, then, when I said it’s time for more self-reflection, as my friends in the Empathy Circle pointed out, it’s time to take a good hard look at ourselves. Are we trying to be a better version of ourselves or just to present an image or to let our reactions get the better of us? Are we able to feel comfortable with the real image, non-retouched, not made-up and rather raw? Pause for thought.
Maybe that could be the real silver-lining of this pandemic.
Create any thoughts?
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That’s an excellent thought. I’ve not thought about seeing my zoom meetings as a reflection. But yes, it somehow truly is.
I also heard more people saying, they are not bothering anymore so much about their look, and consequently see themselves more often in a somewhat natural state. Well, at least if they’re not taking selfies with their iPhone, which creates an entirely different reality.
Thanks Björn. I’m with you in that I hadn’t thought of the zooms in that way… perhaps so often just involved in the zoom event itself and not going meta! And to your second point, that’s the non-made-up element of our lives now… a bit more down to the source!