• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • SHOP
  • BLOG
  • ABOUT CATHY
  • CONTACT

CZ Design

#middleagedselfie

May 19, 2015

#middleagedselfie

cathyzielske.com
Last week I got a much needed  hair cut. In spite of being moderately chubbier these days (okay, maybe moderately is a bit generous here), I still feel hella lot better with predictable hair. For me, a half an inch’ll do, thank you very much. I also poured about a gallon of blue black foaming Garnier Nutrisse into the mix and emerged with a thick, rich, black skull cap of hair.

Every time I get a hair cut, after I complete the Shower to Remove Little Tiny Hairs ands Hair Dye, I sit down and put on makeup, something I do with greater infrequency these days. A little foundation. A little blush. Make my eyebrows presentable and sometimes toss in some eye liner. Rarely do I add the mascara, because you know, glasses—what’s the point?

And hell, once the make up is on, it’s Selfie Time.

I’m not sure at what age the selfie-taking process becomes uncouth. I’d like to think it is an ageless kind of thing, but at some point, maybe you do have to say when.

Just for fun, go to Instagram and enter the #middleagedselfie hashtag. As of this writing, there are 85 posts. On Instagram. 86. Compare that to the 14,250,054 posts for #believe and you realize that middle-aged selfies aren’t really a thing. Hell, there are 274,642 posts for #fart. But just 85 for people between the ages of roughly 40 and 60 taking photos of themselves.

What’s up with that?

As I put together this unfiltered collection you see above, I didn’t exactly jump on posting mine to Instagram. I thought, “Yeah. Pass.”

And why? Is it because I’m more mature now and should possess a bit of decorum with what I choose to share?

Maybe.

I mean, we all know the sacred rules of Middle-Aged Selfies, right?

1. Hold phone 6 inches to 1 foot above head. Look up.

2. Hold phone 1 foot to 16 inches above head. Look up.

3. Hold phone directly above head. Look up.

4. Tile your head, slightly, or turn it ever so gently to one side.

5. Blast the shit out of that sucker with filters.

Sometimes, I’ll do a selfie and use the direct send feature of Instagram and I basically just send it to one of two people: My daughter or Tara Whitney. I know both will greatly appreciate my efforts. Often I’ll get a direct reply or simply the hand clap emoji. That’s enough for me.

Maybe it’s just the incongruity of it all. Is middle-aged selfie an oxymoron in theory? Should we be taking these photos of ourselves during these years where the elasticity of our skins takes a veritable nose dive?

I’m not saying I have the answer here. I just know to hold my phone in the right spot and let the chips fall where they may.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joana says

    May 19, 2015 at 6:04 am

    Cathy, I honestly think you look great!

    Reply
  2. Heather says

    May 19, 2015 at 6:43 am

    Lookin good! My last selfie was with a camera in front of my face. I made it my profile pic.

    Reply
  3. Denyse says

    May 19, 2015 at 6:57 am

    Ok. You totally made my day. I’ve had the same freakin’ issue. At least now I know the proper phone placement to reduce the appearance of my (not so fine) lines and wrinkles.

    And you look amazing!

    Now I’m off to add some kick ass filters to the selfies I just took simply because I wore my hair down today.

    Reply
  4. Debra Parker says

    May 19, 2015 at 7:10 am

    Yes! Yes to all of this. You captured the thought process of so many of us middle-agers. Thank you, as always, for being so transparent in a world where injecting, nipping, tucking and sucking are commonplace. For that I too would offer up several clapping emojis if they were an option when commenting. 🙂 You look gorgeous!

    Reply
    • Cathy Zielske says

      May 19, 2015 at 7:46 am

      Well thank you! Clapping emojis are much better than say, poop emojis in this instance! 😉

      Reply
  5. Glenda Thorne says

    May 19, 2015 at 7:57 am

    Lookin’ very good Cathy!

    Reply
  6. Sindee says

    May 19, 2015 at 9:09 am

    I bought a selfie stick, which my husband thought was dumb, but I look really good from far away!

    Reply
  7. Sindee says

    May 19, 2015 at 9:12 am

    And I too think you are looking mighty fine!

    Reply
  8. Laura says

    May 19, 2015 at 9:23 am

    We’re not tagging our less-than-frequent selfies with #middleagedselfies because we’re in denial about being middle-aged. 🙂 We think maybe if we don’t mention it, no one will notice our necks. *sob* And the wrinkles around the eyes that don’t go away anymore after a good night’s sleep. And the beginning of the vertical lines between the eyebrows . . . you know, the ones your Mom has?

    Reply
  9. Cathie says

    May 19, 2015 at 9:25 am

    I am all about the selfie. I think they’re awesome and fun. Sometimes they are the only pics of me that I have.

    Perhaps the reason why there are so few middle age selfies on Instagram is because of the word “middle age”. Who’s ever ready for that word? I’m 41 and I’m not.

    So, hold that iPhone way up high, tilt your head and snap away. That’s what I’ll be doing.

    ps: you look great.

    Reply
  10. Tara says

    May 19, 2015 at 9:34 am

    One, I know for #5 you really wanted to say fucker instead of sucker. Two keep on sending them I love you.

    Reply
    • Cathy Zielske says

      May 19, 2015 at 9:45 am

      Did you just say ‘fucker’ on my blog? You little minx you.

      Reply
  11. Laurie says

    May 19, 2015 at 11:52 am

    Cathy,

    You look lovely and I think selfies are fine at any age. Its human to be curious about ourselves and our appearance. Why not have fun with that?

    Reply
  12. JennieB says

    May 19, 2015 at 2:26 pm

    I don’t think worrying about what we look like in photos every ends. I’ll be 70 in June and I’m still worrying. Now, though, I put my 5 month old Godson in front of me so all the attention goes to him.

    Reply
  13. Kim says

    May 19, 2015 at 2:36 pm

    Good job, I think you look beautiful and natural. Filters definitely are my friends as well but I don’t overdo it then it just looks weird. If I didn’t take selfies I wouldn’t be documented since I’m the picture taker 🙂 BUT isn’t it the worst when you have the camera flipped, hit the camera button and the worst double chin, squinty old eye face is staring back at you?! I’m like, “dang do I look that bad when I make that face?”

    Reply
  14. Audrey V says

    May 19, 2015 at 6:38 pm

    Ok, I am severely handicapped. Seriously, how do you hold the camera at arm’s length, hold it still with one hand, and press the button? Is it just me? Am I all thumbs? I cannot seem to do this simple task. Help!

    Reply
    • Cathy Zielske says

      May 20, 2015 at 7:08 am

      A selfie stick? 😉 I hear they are great!

      Reply
  15. Galen says

    May 19, 2015 at 7:18 pm

    I object to the idea of middle aged selfies ending at 60………….

    Reply
    • Donna G. says

      May 21, 2015 at 12:01 pm

      I second that, Galen!!

      Reply
  16. Penny says

    May 19, 2015 at 10:59 pm

    When I did my first middle-age selfie I gasped out loud – ouch! But now, selfie away with my teens….

    Reply
  17. heidig says

    May 20, 2015 at 5:47 am

    Lovely! And yes, the elasticity of my facial skin has taken a nose dive and is drowning!!

    Reply
  18. Michelle t says

    May 20, 2015 at 8:42 am

    I have a couple selfies. One with my daughter, she’s 10. Another couple I did to scrapbook a layout. I can’t share on Instagram because I’m lucky I can send an email without blowing something up. But I wouldn’t anyway, I have big time appearance issues. But it was important to me, and I wanted to. That’s a big deal for me. But, enough about that…

    You’re beautiful.

    Michelle t

    Reply
  19. Ami Pilon says

    May 20, 2015 at 5:33 pm

    Cathy, I took a selfie last week and the one on my blog is a few months old. Next week I will be 71 and I like taking photos of everyone and everything and myself.

    Reply
  20. Judi says

    May 20, 2015 at 8:17 pm

    I took my first selfie this year. I’m 68. No age barriers!!

    Reply
  21. Donna G. says

    May 21, 2015 at 12:05 pm

    Cathy, dear, you fabulous! Thanks for the selfie info! Q: Which filters on which apps do you recommend?

    Reply
    • Cathy Zielske says

      May 21, 2015 at 1:09 pm

      You know, mostly I actually just use Instagram, and I adjust photos manually. I add brightness to most of them. 🙂 That tends to smooth things out!

      Reply
  22. Jennifer says

    May 22, 2015 at 6:17 am

    I don’t know if your family is like mine, but I wouldn’t be in ANY pictures if I didn’t take selfies with them. I finally realized a few years ago that there are NO pictures of me in any of my scrapbooks. So I started taking selfies with the kids and on vacation. Now I have pics of me in there! Hey, we as scrapbookers do what needs to be done!

    Reply
  23. SherriS. says

    May 22, 2015 at 3:27 pm

    Oh, Cathy how you make me laugh! I took a few of myself a few days ago and I’m like “Really?” I agree with someone in the comments above about the lines around the eyes that don’t go away now and you about losing that elasticity. It’s a shocker in photos more than in the mirror for some reason.

    All that being said – you rocked your selfies! 😀

    Reply
  24. Gayle says

    May 23, 2015 at 6:31 am

    Well said!!! – G 55

    Reply
  25. Stacia says

    June 13, 2015 at 7:26 pm

    I let my youngest son (age 11) takes “selfies” of us because his arms are apparently longer (or the camera is farther away from me when he takes the pic!) and the photo is 100x better. 🙂 The ones I take of myself usually end up as “for myself only.” :O

    Reply
  26. Elaine says

    June 28, 2015 at 7:04 pm

    Rule #6: Sixty year old arms are too short for selfies!
    Seriously!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Categories

  • Cards
  • Crafts
  • CZ Life
  • Free Downloads
  • Products & Classes
  • Project Life
  • Scrapbooking
  • Tutorials

Archives

Footer

About

I'm Cathy Zielske and this is one of my homes on the World Wide Web. Want to learn more about me? By all means, click the link below:

  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Let’s Connect

If you have specific questions that can’t be answered by stalking me on social media, please click below:

Categories

  • Cards
  • Crafts
  • CZ Life
  • Free Downloads
  • Products & Classes
  • Project Life
  • Scrapbooking
  • Tutorials

Copyright © 2023 Cathy Zielske · site by bello via design