Are we too narcissistic? Do millenials mistake self-care for self-adoration? Shahidha Bari debates Sussan Babaie on whether the front-facing camera is such a bad thing.
The selfie was responsible for 73 deaths in the first eight months of 2016 - ten times as many as were killed by shark attacks. This is surely a sign that we live in a narcissistic age. Yet from Steve Jobs to Kanye West and Donald Trump, narcissism seems linked to success. Is this because self-obsession is an effective life strategy? Could narcissism, as Nietzsche suggests, be an important part of being true to ourselves? Or is it a dangerous strategy and true genius requires self-doubt?
SUSSAN BABAIE: Sussan Babaie is an art historian and curator specialising in the art of Iran and Islam. She was written extensively on history and culture, and has been teaching at the Courtauld Institute of Art since 2013.
*****************HowTheLightGetsIn*********************
***The World's Largest Philosophy and Music Festival***
Over 200 events, 80 debates and talks, and 100 music and performance events.
HowTheLightGetsIn Festival returns to Hay-on-Wye this May after a sell-out debut in London last September. On the edge of the Black Mountains, alongside the River Wye, you'll find the world's leading thinkers debating cutting edge ideas as well as an inspiring programme of music, comedy, culture and performance.
28