Everyone does it. It doesn’t matter how it’s done either. Do you have a phone, a laptop, iPad, mp3 player? If the answer is yes, then you are good to go.
Selfie Syllabification: sel·fie NOUN (plural selfies), informal
Definition: A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media: occasional selfies are acceptable, but posting a new picture of yourself everyday isn’t necessary.
Selfies are a craze that is taking over the world. Crazes always venture into our lives at inappropriate times, but resist the urge! Just like the Harlem Shake, planking, flash mobs, tombstoning, Tebowing or the cinnamon challenge, there’s a time and place for them, and these certainly were not them. They’re just so ridiculously awkward and for many, just so, so inappropriate. It is one thing to take photos to document places you visit and it’s another to show your respect if those places have a deeper meaning and rank high as an emotional location (graveyard, funerals, weddings, etc.). Are places that have deeper meaning to you or others “deemed” as inappropriate places to snap a selfie? You can of course, argue both sides of the spectrum, but at the end of the day, the untimely selfie is classless.
The topic of public selfies came up when I read the article, Selfies in Auschwitz – And Why It’s Wrong. The writer, from National Memo, takes a deeper look into inappropriately snapped selfies. The article says, “I understand this is not exactly a federal crime. And yes, I get that people take pictures of themselves in order to place themselves in a context. It is a way of saying, ‘I was there.’ Nothing wrong with that. I’ve done it myself.” Are selfies such a craze that it is taking the world by storm? Are selfies a thing to this day and age or do we see them slowly disappearing like Pokemon cards?
I believe snapping a selfie of you happy-go-lucky at some sacred place; it diminishes the place and sends a message that has become the norm “this is all about me.” And you know what? It isn’t. We are in the “selfie era” and we need to teach our peers, parents, grandparents and the next generation the proper etiquette the selfie.
I bet next time you will think before you take a selfie, because there are devoted to inappropriate selfies. So, will you have your guard up next time you take a selfie in public?
