SA21 B: Can we take a Selfie?

Terri Gan, Jasper Liu, Vince Mallari, Nadia Rodriguez, Calvin Sia

SA21- B

Breaching experiment: Selfies with strangers

1)      What norms did you violate?

As part of the “millennial” generation, our group is familiar with the concept of a selfie. A selfie is a photo you take of yourself, usually with a phone’s front camera. It can be seen as a form of self-expression, a way to show confidence, and means to feel empowered. Selfies are usually taken individually or in groups.

Our breaching experiment is to take selfies with strangers. The norm that our group violated is the unwritten rule of having “personal space” when one is with strangers. This is because to take a selfie, one must get close to whoever will be part of the photo. It is the norm to not be physically close to strangers. Given that the people who would be part of the selfie are strangers, the concept of having “personal space” is important.

Additionally, privacy is also a norm that has been violated. This is seen in this breaching experiment because strangers would not easily agree to take a selfie with a stranger.

2)     Describe the breaching experiment in detail. What was the activity? Where did you do it?

Our group’s breaching experiment was to take selfies with strangers. This was done in UP Town Center on a Thursday afternoon. There were two variations for this experiment. The first was to take a selfie with a stranger for no reason. The other was to take a selfie for a reason. For the latter, when we were asked what the reason for the selfie was, we said that it is for a bet. We varied how we answered what the selfie was for, such as using gestures like referring to people we were with, or with no gestures at all. We tried to get as many selfies as we could, and to achieve this, we set a minimum for ourselves to have at least one successful photo with a stranger. We also decided to form groups of two and approached the stranger by 2’s.  

3)     What were the different reactions of the people? List all possible reactions you observed. Why do you think they reacted this way? What caused these reactions? Did the deviant act re-affirm/reinforce the existing norms based on these reactions?  

A)  Jasper and Terri’s experience: Out of the six people I asked, five of them agreed to take a selfie with me. Almost all of them were female, but there was one male. The man was happy to take a selfie with me and wished me luck. He probably took a selfie with me because I looked younger than him and harmless. I was wearing a collared shirt and pants so I could immediately pass as a student in either UP or Ateneo playing around with friend. Next, a woman who worked at a restaurant was shy at first, but eventually said yes. She probably saw me take a selfie with the man so was reassured that nothing harmful would come from it. She was reluctant to show her face to the camera at first, but was fine with it eventually. A saleslady told to take a selfie with the teddy bears instead and would not allow her face to be in the picture. The saleslady did not allow her face to be seen but was willing for me to take selfies with the store’s items. A reason could be that I was alone and had no proof it was truly for a bet. Lastly, Terri and I (Jasper) decided to stand by inside Jamba Juice and try to get some people’s pictures there. My friend bought a drink, and we acted as if we were about to start a bet. I then asked three women in the store to take a selfie with me telling them that it’s for a bet with my friend as I pointed to her. They all agreed and to make it look like I won the bet, I said “Yes!” and drank my friends drink. They probably said yes because the fact that I’m hanging out with a girl made it look like I wasn’t dangerous and the selfie bet was surely just for fun

Jasper's Selfie

Terri's Selfie

B) Calvin’ s Experience: Me and Vince both decided to go alone to find people to take selfies with but sadly only 1 person each accepted our offers. I  asked 6 people in total but only 1 agreed to take the selfie. I asked 3 old-looking guys but they all declined and said that “May hinihintay ako” or “Wag ako. Sa iba nalang” while looking annoyed and walking away. Some of the reasons that they declined to take a selfie was because taking selfies were really childish or that by taking selfies with us, it reduces their masculinity. One possibility could be that they thought I was gay and that I wanted to take selfies with them because I thought they were handsome so they avoided me because they didn’t want to be associated as being gay.  After that, one of the 2 girls that I asked was from Miriam College and was taking selfies of herself inside the mall but when I approached and asked her, she declined and just walked away looking embarrassed and weirded out. This may be her reaction because she had preconceptions of guys and thought that I would do harm to her. Being from a school like Miriam College may also shape her thinking that guys are evil so as a result, girls like her shouldn’t talk to guys let alone take selfies with her.  The only girl that agreed to take a selfie with calvin was an employee inside a store. She was reluctant at first and asked whether I was a college student or not. When I said that I was a college student, she agreed to take the picture with me. She probably agreed to take the picture because she realized that taking the selfie won’t do any harm to her and that I was just a college student so nothing was going to happen to her.

Calvin's Selfie

C. Vince’s experience: I was the first one in the group to ask for a selfie. I asked a teenage guy who was seating on a bench in the open area at UPTC. I was very hesitant and it took me a long time before I could approach him. The guy was looking at us as I tried to muster up the courage to approach him. When I finally asked a selfie from him, he looked rather annoyed and rejected my request. I said it was for a bet, pointing at Calvin and Jasper to justify it. He shook his head and snubbed me. After that I tried to ask another mall goer, this time a middle-aged female. She was busy with her phone as I approached her. She was a bit startled and looked very snobbish. She was straightforward in rejecting my request by saying “No”. I tried to change my approach after 2 failed attempts. I asked mall staff for selfies since they were easier to approach. I approached 2 sales ladies, 2 female janitors, and 2 male shop clerks. They all refused to have a selfie with me due to the following reasons: they were shy, they were not wearing their uniform, store policy (no cameras), insisted that their other co-workers have the selfie instead. From there on, I tried to ask female teenage mall goer, I asked her and she was surprised, looked a little bit scared, probably because I looked sketchy. She replied “I have to go somewhere” and walked in a hurry. I was a little frustrated because no one wanted to take a selfie with me but after the 9th try, I saw this salesman standing around the store. I asked him and he was very nice as well as enthusiastic with the request even saying, “Selfie lang pala eh".

Vince's Selfie

D) Overall experience of the group: As predicted, more than half of the people we asked were not willing to take selfies as 16 out of the 26 declined our request of taking a selfie with them. These people were very wary as to what wanted from them with their paused speeches and closed body language. Some were quick to say no, and even brushed us off as if we weren’t in front of them. Some of the responses were “Bakit ako?”, “Sa iba na lang”, “May pupuntahan pa ako”. Similar to reports on the news, people’s faces were normally blocked or censored to hide their identity. This is the norm we all have unconsciously followed, which is the known fact that our faces play a huge role in our identity and we do not want other people who we don’t know or barely know to have a “piece of us” with them, especially the ones that aren’t written. This is one of the main reason why most people rejected our offer, since they do not want a piece of their identity, even if we will never see them ever again, to be part of our, a group of strangers’, property.

4)     Aside from the norms, what sociological themes are at play for people to react in a certain way? Is it a function of gender (gender norms, roles), social class (norms of the rich & the poor), values/beliefs of institutions (religion, family, peer group, etc.).

We approached people of different gender and purpose in being in the mall that afternoon. We approached male and female staff of the mall (salesladies, janitors, clerks, waiters), who were the most accommodating ones, yet still has a tinge of hesitance in accepting our request. Most of them accepted our request straight-out and were even laughing with us until the very end, and there are a few, mostly women, who escaped by merely smiling and prolonging the question without answering directly to not provide us with rude service. We also approached female students from UPD. They were fine with us taking a selfie with them as they smiled with us in taking the photograph. However, some teenage mall goers (male and female) did not accept the request and looked surprised and shy when they were asked.  Attempting to receive a yes from mall goers, which were from the upper, middle class, male/female was quite difficult. The women, whose age are of 30-40, were nice and kind, but also rejected the request. Men of this age, on the other hand, were not comfortable with the idea and were quick to reject the request.

It was harder to approach common mall goers (middle and upper class) compared to the people who work at the mall (working class) because they were easier to approach and they treated us as customers. Common mall goers do not expect strangers to approach them because of the norms of personal space and privacy. For the upper/middle class, females were also more willing than males when asked for selfies.

The gender of the person asking for the selfie also played the role. It was easier for the female to ask for a selfie since there is no “sketchy” factor. For males, it was hard for them to ask for a selfie specifically towards females since they might be perceived as threats. When we split into groups of two, the group with one female member was able to get a significant number of selfies. The group with two males were not able to get any selfie.

5)     How did you feel when you did this experiment? How does it feel to deviate from the norms? Were you hesitant to do the activity?        

We were all hesitant in doing this experiment, for the obvious reason of not wanting to breach a norm. However, as the experiment went on, we were more comfortable with the activity. After one groupmate began the experiment, we were encouraged to look for more people to take selfies with. It was exciting to see people who were alone because they were an easier “target” for the experiment. When the experiment progressed further, it became even more fun because we felt like we were actors on a television show.  Although being told “yes” for this experiment was exhilarating, accepting continuous rejections lowered our self-esteem greatly since we were not used to being greatly rejected in a span of 3 hours. Because it’s an activity that is not normally done, it was exciting.

6)  Other observations and analysis that you may have on the activity and on deviance in general.

• The people whom you’re with and whom the stranger is with affect the chances of getting a selfie with a stranger. The specific location in the mall also plays a role. Your race (Filipino,Chinese, etc) age (how you look), gender are all important factors. The way you asked the request was also vital. When there was no reason given for the selfie request, the stranger was extremely hesitant. When it was backed up with the “bet” reason, some somehow felt relieved and obliged but others still did not want their photo taken.
• Perfect timing was also a key in asking for a selfie. Usually, the right timing is when the stranger is all alone. It was less embarrassing on our part because we’re just going to ask one person. The “target” should be approached as soon as possible. You shouldn’t wait around because he/she will notice you. They would feel that you’re watching them and as you approach them they will quickly reject you (happened on our first try). It was also important not to follow around the target since they might think you’re a stalker or a thief.