Lets Talk About Selfies

Lets talk about one of the most talked about phenomenons in recent popular culture.
The Selfie.
Heralded as both a wonder and one of the greatest annoyances to ever occur.
Blamed for a generation of selfish, lazy millenials.
Encouraged as self esteem building.

What is a selfie?

1918 Selfie by Australian Officer

A selfie is a photo taken by oneself of themselves. This can be just the one person, or a group of people. It can be just a face, or a shoulders up photo at an event/location/etc that the "selfie" taker wants to remember as being there.

Sure, we have documented photos of people taking selfies starting with the first cameras. The difference now is the number of selfies that are taken thanks to the ease of front facing cameras on most phones.

So, what's so bad about selfies? Well, nothing really. Its just a photo taken for the same reason basically every other photo is taken. But for some reason there is a loud group of people who absolutely hate them.

Funeral selfie... yikes

Why hate some one taking a photo of themselves? It doesn't hurt anyone else right?

She made national news for this selfie blunder

Well, most of the time yes.

Unfortunately, there are a group of socially inept people out there who are really good at taking selfies at the absolute wrong moment. Many smiling and goofy selfies have been taken at the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau, or at the 9/11 memorial. We've also all seen the selfies of young people with their dying grandparents, or even at funerals with coffins. None of these are appropriate. It is understandable wanting to remember your visit, or take a last photo with a loved one- it should be done with respect. Sometimes the only option at these times is to take a selfie, but it can be done with respect. I've seen plenty of "serious" selfies that come across just fine. The only difference between having someone else take the photo and a selfie is literally the angle it is taken at. A photo taken by someone else can also be just as inappropriate if not done with the appropriate reverence for the situation.

Family selfie!

Other people call out selfie takers as being self involved. Sure, someone who posts 800 selfies of themselves a day in various poses is annoying and probably either full of themselves or has so little self confidence that they need constant reassurance. Either way, other than being annoying they probably aren't harming anyone.

Fancy apple juice selfie!

90% of the selfies I take are with my daughter, and almost entirely because if I didn't there would be no pictures of us together. Same with most family photos we take. Every once in a while I take a silly one of a situation or a place I am to show "I was there, see!"

Sure, selfies are sometimes annoying and taken in inappropriate situations, but can we stop using them as an excuse to blow off an entire generation and their thoughts and opinions? Had any previous generation had the same technology they would have done it too. There's no if about that. They would have. So lets accept that its just part of life now, its something that everyone does (If you haven't seen the 90 year old couple taking selfies video, look it up. Freaking adorable). It doesn't make us selfish, or self involved as a generation. In fact lets be honest, we can claim every generation is different, but are we really? We're all humans. The older generations always complain about the younger generations. The younger generations blame the older generations for various problems they face. We're all in this together, can we just try to be nice to each other?

Take a selfie, it will make you feel better.

Mueller-Tiedeman Wedding 6/11/16
Photo by Zach Muzur