The viralisation of the NoMakeUpSelfie

An article by Claire Jones-Hughes    No Comments

It seems the source and reason is still unknown but on Tuesday a bunch of people on social media, started posting pictures of themselves with no make-up on - otherwise known as ‘a week day’ in my house.

Culminating in £1m of donations to Cancer Research UK and other cancer related charities also reporting an uplift in giving, the road to ‘awareness’ has not been a smooth one. Social media aficionados and cyber geeks came out in their droves to criticise the bandwagon approach, as it appeared some posters didn’t fully understand why they are sharing a barefaced picture. And there were no mention of cancer charities or links to donation pages.

It’s been a hot debate. Mainly because those affected by cancer get a little weary of memes raising awareness but not really getting to heart of what is needed to beat cancer i.e. facts, figures, cash! BrightonMums.com’s co-editor Chelle McCann has had deeply personal experiences with cancer, she says,

“I find the project worthwhile when it links to something, I really do have an emotional pull then because I’ve been tagged. Also cancer has a face. I appreciate what everyone is doing with #nomakeupselfie and love seeing links posted with the pictures as for me that really makes a difference,”

There’s no doubt the #nomakeupselfie has achieved great things in 24 hours, which is astounding. Personally I think Cancer Research UK has done a good job of benefiting from the trend, especially as it went viral so quickly. And the less skeptical bloggers are flocking to their timeliness to urge those taking part in the #nomakeupselfie to also add details on how to give money by texting BEAT to 70099 to donate £3.

I’ve read blogs accusing those taking part as narcissistic but with many of us affected by this horrible disease, aren’t our bare faces also the face of cancer? We are all at risk, it is one of the great unknowns, because even if we look after ourselves to prevent cancer, we will never know for certain if we don’t develop a form of the disease. But this is of course my interpretation of the meme and why people feel compelled to post.

Unlike the secret coded Facebook status message, which was fun at first but now a little annoying, #nomakeupselfie has a bit more impact. It took some courage for me to post a picture of barefaced. I have just turned 40, I am friends with people on-line who may never seen me without make-up because it’s been such a big part of my life outside the house. Since working for myself and starting life as a school run Mum, the number of make-up free days in my life has dramatically increased but it doesn’t mean I happily snap photos and regularly put them out there publicly on social media.

Plus, we need to get into the minds of the younger generations. While we will probably not know how much money they have actually donated over the last 24 hours, memes, selfies, blogs, Tumblr, is how they relate to one another. Taking part is a social exercise in belonging and networking with their friends on-line. A 2009 study showed teenagers spend an average of 31 hours a week on-line, 5 years on, this pattern may not have changed that much. Fun things to do with friends on-line is a huge part of their social lives.

These kinds of memes are harmless fun in my view. And if you’re a bit fatigued of taking part or it hurts too much to see them, no one would fault you for ‘unfollowing’ or hiding someone’s feed for a bit. Take control of the social media environment you enjoy before you blame it entirely for making your life miserable.

Together, with their mixture of views via selfies and general timeline tittle-tattle, the haterz, the teenage cyber tribes, the militant mums, the grateful charities and skeptical bloggers have raised £1m or more for a worthwhile cause. And that cannot be wrong.

The bare face of cancer research support

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