Jim Carrey has been on somewhat of a spiritual journey lately. Recently, Carrey shared his opinions on taking selfies with fans, and his words might resonate with people who are growing tired of the selfie generation.
The 57-year-old actor, who was being interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter along with other various other comedy greats, mused about what it’s like to have no anonymity, joking that “even my dog makes a big deal [out] of me.”
His remark prompted laughter from his fellow interviewees – a famous bunch like Ted Danson, Don Cheadle, and Sacha Baron Cohen – but Carrey wanted to make a much more serious point.
Reflecting on the falseness of celebrity selfies, which he believes to “stop life”, Carrey said that he’d much more enjoy a nice chat with someone, instead of just ending up as an image on a fan’s Instagram.
As he told The Hollywood Reporter,Carrey remarked:
“But I dropped the whole trying to be something for somebody a long time ago. I don’t feel there is a pressing responsibility to please everyone. I’m not unkind to people, but I would much prefer saying hello and who are you and what are you doing today to giving a selfie. Because selfies stop life. You go (contorts his face), “Eeehh.” And then it’s going on Instagram to give people a false sense of relevance. Everybody was so gaga about Steve Jobs, but I picture him in hell running from demons who want a selfie.”
Carrey compared being in the public eye to ‘walking on the moon’, saying:
“You can want to walk on the moon all you want, but then you get up there and there’s no gravity. You can’t live there.”
A study from 2015 in Now Sourcing and Frames Direct, found that the average millennial spends an hour ever week perfecting their selfies – this includes taking the photo, retaking the photo, and editing.
Millennials have been found to take an average of around 9 selfies per week, spending seven minutes per picture. If the average human lifespan is 27,375 days, that means that an average millennial will take about 25,700 selfies throughout their life.
While selfies can be a great way of capturing a moment, too many of them can detract from the special meaning of interactions.
