I believe the main difference between the pre-internet 'selfies' (among which I include painted self portraits) and the selfie phenomenon of today is the massive scale of it. This makes it possible to compare they way we perceive ourselves and want to be perceived. And what do we see when we make those comparisons? We are all te same:

http://www.avadenticals.org/categories/95.-salute
http://www.avadenticals.org/categories/81.-bubble-gum
http://www.avadenticals.org/categories/59.-duckface
http://www.avadenticals.org/categories/61.-headset
http://www.avadenticals.org/categories/86.-fist