women taking selfieThe “Love-Your-Selfie” contest challenges students to inspire positive self-image by sharing unretouched photos of themselves on social media.

Unfiltered selfies to power positive self-image

The Wellness at UWindsor office hopes to encourage positive self-image among students by challenging them to share unretouched photos of themselves on social media.

Mental health and wellness co-ordinator Ashley Vodarek says students working with her developed the “Love-Your-Selfie” contest to promote healthy self-love — valuing and accepting one’s own worth.

The contest challenges UWindsor students to post unfiltered selfies to Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter with a message of self-love and the hashtag #LiveLoveLancers. Ten entrants will each receive a $10 Tim Hortons gift card, with winners drawn at random on Feb. 28.

Shannon Armstrong, a master’s candidate in social work, says the campaign is intended to help students recognize self-love by challenging how they portray themselves to others on social media.

“We aim to encourage thoughts around the importance of acknowledging the negative impact of social media — such as editing photos — as well as the influence that scrolling through a world of flawless faces has on our mental health and wellness,” Armstong says.

“We are challenging students to #LiveLoveLancers by taking a break from using filters and let the unedited versions of themselves inspire and motivate students to Love-Your-Selfie.”

She cites “Be Yourself. Accept Yourself. Empower Yourself!” as an example of the kind of message worth spreading and invites questions, comments, or feedback at wellness@uwindsor.ca.