[...] Dr Graham Barnfield, a media researcher at the University of East London, says the photos reminded him of one of the biggest trends in contemporary culture - reality TV, where it is cool to "record self-abuse and to record yourself degrading others".
"These photos appear to reflect what is happening more broadly in society", says Dr Barnfield. "On mainstream TV, the internet and elsewhere, it has become increasingly acceptable to do humiliating things - both to yourself and others - for the cameras." [...]
Dr Barnfield thinks the rise in reality humiliation at home and snapshots of torture overseas are part of the same process.
"The main shift is that the boundaries between public and private life have been steadily eroded", he says. "People under 45 in particular seem more and more willing to let their dark secrets out into the open with minimal prompting. Reality TV is the perfect genre for this shift in values and a declining sense of discrimination."
Where individuals would have been more guarded in the past, making sure that certain things only took place in private, today they have fewer qualms about doing such things publicly, says Dr Barnfield. [...]
