Last week I was showing a visiting friend around Budapest’s Castle District which over looks the Danube. From the lofty viewing platform, my Portuguese pal Amelia snapped the stupendous panorama of the city. Beside us, a Japanese girl sat on steps and busied herself taking ‘selfies’ – resting her camera on a height, and posing for close ups of her face. It seemed a most peculiar thing to do. These are kind of pictures you could take at home sitting on your sofa (if you were so inclined) why on earth would you come to one of the most beautiful spots in Europe for such poses. The girl and the photos her camera took were oblivious to her awe-inspiring surroundings, beyond the effect the light may have had on her visage.

The view she was missing

I was intrigued if somewhat taken aback by this vanity, so I took pictures of her posing. Later that evening this her self focus became a topic of conversation over dinner with friends. Is the ‘selfie’ is a symptom of the self-absorption of modern kids?  Not at all said a friend,  it is simply that the Internet has become the new ‘ballroom’ where young people market their physical wares in the hopes of finding a mate – and for this end, you’ve got to have the best shots and the most interesting pictures of yourself. Therefore ‘here’s me’ is not as good as ‘here’s me in Budapest’ – even if you don’t see any of Budapest.

Then it struck me that I’m already a key player in this new ‘ballroom’, I too have set out my wares – even if mating is not the goal. I have this blog, a Facebook and Twitter account – and they’re all shouting about me.  We’re all self-promoting. We’re all shouting. But are we missing out on what’s around us by doing so? Are we forgetting to live because we’re too busy blogging, tweeting, FBing etc… Hmmm…

Which leads me to my new radio play, ‘The Daffodil’ about a self-obsessed narcissist intent on winning the Eurovision. Oh, but that is another story…