On Instagram, it’s all about selfies — and Iranians, from Isfahan and Lahijan to Tehran and Ahvaz, are on board. Many Iranian Instagrammers are prolific and popular, publishing selfies on a daily basis.
With prominent cheeks and prosthetic pouting lips, a woman mimics a character on a satirical TV series, laughing loudly. Another photograph shows a woman standing before a mirror, whistling and throwing kisses to her fans. There is a short film of a man dancing with his friends in a car. A young man takes a selfie of himself in front of an elevator; a young woman snaps a photo of herself at her dressing table.
In front of the camera, people sing, talk about their daily lives, and dance. Girls wearing manteaux and headscarves sing along to popular tracks, devising their own dance for the world to see. Boys in scarves mimic them.
film_selfi was launched a few months ago, calling for people to send in selfies for instant fame and followers. When he launched the site, the administrator, 21-year-old management student Mohammad, promised followers he would not host anything “political or immoral” on the page.
Mohammad came up with the idea when he noticed the huge trend for selfies among young people in Iran. The first video published on the page was posted by a girl sitting in a car next to her boyfriend. “Here is Ahvaz,” she says. Then she turns the camera toward the driver and adds, “and this is Ali. We did not break up and we are not going to break up. But we are hoping for a good night.”
“These are people who love fame,” Mohammad tells IranWire. “They are very happy to share their videos on other people’s pages.” film_selfi, which was launched three months ago, now has more than 52,000 followers. “Considering the power of selfie fever, I assumed that it would become popular — but I never imagined that the numbers would rise so fast,” he says.
At first he started by publishing public selfies from other Instagram pages but now he does not need any extra content — people are posting more than enough photographs. Followers send selfies to the admin address and he chooses what goes up. He has his own particular selection criteria. “The photos have to be fun,” he declares, “meaning that I prioritize selfies that are the most fun.”
Mohammad has also published a selfie of himself. “People kept asking me why I hadn’t published one. So I posted a video of me and my friends hanging out.”
Under every post, he also lists the Instagram page of the person who has sent in the video so that they gain followers. “People who publish selfies want to be known. They want celebrity status,” he explains. He says most of the people who send in photos are around his age.
Maryam’s selfie appears on film_selfi. She has 2,000 followers and posts a video once every few days. Sometimes she sings; other times she talks; and occasionally she is seen with some of her friends. “I want to be an Instagram celebrity,” she declares. She is studying English translation at university but wants to change fields and plans to take the entrance exam to study the arts. "I love acting and have the talent for it,” she tells IranWire. “I want to follow a career that I truly love.”
Isn’t she afraid of her photo being online, especially with her name appearing next to it? I ask her. She pauses for a moment and then says “No, why should I be afraid? We are not doing anything immoral or talking about politics. We want to make jokes and fool around. We just want to talk.”
Ali and Sahar were recently married. They post photos and videos showing them happy in their new life — on the beach in an embrace, or in their car, singing love songs and pointing to one another. Around 1,300 people follow their life on Instagram.
“Those born in the 1990s like to play a lot,” says Ali. “They are always up for excitement. Keeping secrets is not important to them. If you compare us with the previous generation, like those born in the 1980s, they are much more cautious than we are.” He admires this characteristic of his generation and says, “Our generation is crazy and this craziness is beautiful. What is wrong with that?”
For the most part, Sahar and Ali are focused on the entertainment value of what they are doing. “We have friends who get worried after a couple of days if we have not appeared on Instagram — they ask if we’re okay,” says Sahar. “That’s good enough for us!”
When I ask Ali about his views on fame, he laughs and says, “Who doesn’t like fame?”
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