I hate selfies. I am prepared to hate those who routinely take selfies, though I am willing to hear you out - maybe there’s a justifiable reason to take a selfie from time to time. I’m an open minded dude.
But don’t get me started on selfie sticks. Those are unforgivable.
@shahnm I used to (occasionally) buy one of the “mystery box” deals from iTech, until one of them contained a selfie stick. That was 2 years ago, and I still haven’t forgiven them for it.
Yeah, I don’t get the whole selfie thing. If I’m taking a picture of something, I don’t want my fat head in the picture. I knew who my fellow Mehricans were before this, but this proves it. We’re all old.
@Fuzzalini
Here’s the thing. 99.999% of the time, there’s no point taking a picture of a thing. If you want a picture of a thing, just look the thing up on Wikipedia, or whatever. One million people have taken a better picture of that thing than you ever will.
In this day and age, the only point of taking a picture at all is to make it personal.
Taking straight up pictures of things is an obsolete habit from a bygone era.
@apLundell@Fuzzalini I don’t want someone else’s picture of Stonehenge or the Eiffel Tower. I want my own picture, from where I was standing, on the day and moment I was there, with the people with whom I shared the experience. Photos are memories made manifest.
Taking pictures isn’t about the thing, it’s about remembering the time you were near that thing.
The important memory is that you were there.
So why not put the part you actually want to remember in the photo?
(This also applies to sharing photos online, or putting them in storage for grand-children to look at. Other people don’t need your photo of the Grand Canyon. You’re not that great of a photographer! They want to see a picture of their friend/grandparent AT the Grand Canyon.)
I used to believe the narrative that selfies were about narcissism, but now I realize it’s the opposite.
Past generations believed they were the next Ansel Adams, taking magnificent landscapes to be treasured forever. Now people understand that their photos are only valuable if they contain people.
Every time I read one of those stories where someone tumbled backward over a cliff/seawall to their death while trying to take a selfie, I feel horrified, with just a tiny touch of schadenfreude.
I am not much of a picture-taker so the few pics I have from my 20s thru current are other people. I only have fading memories of it all so I kind of get the selfie thing. Not to prove I was there but to remind me of me at that moment of time. I don’t have any photos of me surfing, drunken roller skating through the streets of Tampa, ladies pool leagues, partying, partying, and partying…
But to be honest, when I did try to take one, I thought it was the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. Sigh.
@llangley Going through my grandparents’ old photographs, I wish selfies were common back then.
I really don’t need photos of all the things they took photos of, but I’d like a photo of them standing next to those things.
I take them rarely. …and usually with a sense of irony or for comedic effect. Such is the life of a 40-something dad of a teenage girl.
We are shopping at Meh, a cheapo bargain site. We don’t have narcissistic tendencies.
@hchavers I shop at Meh because I do have narcissistic tendencies, but am largely confused most of the time.
I hate selfies. I am prepared to hate those who routinely take selfies, though I am willing to hear you out - maybe there’s a justifiable reason to take a selfie from time to time. I’m an open minded dude.
But don’t get me started on selfie sticks. Those are unforgivable.
@shahnm http://theoatmeal.com/comics/selfie_public
@shahnm I used to (occasionally) buy one of the “mystery box” deals from iTech, until one of them contained a selfie stick. That was 2 years ago, and I still haven’t forgiven them for it.
Nothing says narcissism like selfies.
Yeah, I don’t get the whole selfie thing. If I’m taking a picture of something, I don’t want my fat head in the picture. I knew who my fellow Mehricans were before this, but this proves it. We’re all old.
@Fuzzalini Old and Self Loathing. Why else would be put ourselves through this pain every night?
@Fuzzalini
Here’s the thing. 99.999% of the time, there’s no point taking a picture of a thing. If you want a picture of a thing, just look the thing up on Wikipedia, or whatever. One million people have taken a better picture of that thing than you ever will.
In this day and age, the only point of taking a picture at all is to make it personal.
Taking straight up pictures of things is an obsolete habit from a bygone era.
@Fuzzalini old?! 26 is not old
@apLundell @Fuzzalini I don’t want someone else’s picture of Stonehenge or the Eiffel Tower. I want my own picture, from where I was standing, on the day and moment I was there, with the people with whom I shared the experience. Photos are memories made manifest.
@Fuzzalini @moondrake And that, in a nutshell, is why selfies are popular.
Taking pictures isn’t about the thing, it’s about remembering the time you were near that thing.
The important memory is that you were there.
So why not put the part you actually want to remember in the photo?
(This also applies to sharing photos online, or putting them in storage for grand-children to look at. Other people don’t need your photo of the Grand Canyon. You’re not that great of a photographer! They want to see a picture of their friend/grandparent AT the Grand Canyon.)
I used to believe the narrative that selfies were about narcissism, but now I realize it’s the opposite.
Past generations believed they were the next Ansel Adams, taking magnificent landscapes to be treasured forever. Now people understand that their photos are only valuable if they contain people.
You can kind of tell the age of the Mehers, by the answers to this poll.
You all need grand children and then you will take selfies with them…
@rustyh3 Nah… they take them with me.
Every time I read one of those stories where someone tumbled backward over a cliff/seawall to their death while trying to take a selfie, I feel horrified, with just a tiny touch of schadenfreude.
I am not much of a picture-taker so the few pics I have from my 20s thru current are other people. I only have fading memories of it all so I kind of get the selfie thing. Not to prove I was there but to remind me of me at that moment of time. I don’t have any photos of me surfing, drunken roller skating through the streets of Tampa, ladies pool leagues, partying, partying, and partying…
But to be honest, when I did try to take one, I thought it was the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. Sigh.
@llangley Going through my grandparents’ old photographs, I wish selfies were common back then.
I really don’t need photos of all the things they took photos of, but I’d like a photo of them standing next to those things.
I don’t ever take any, but Zephyr sometimes does.
@moondrake that is one adorable pooch! He looks very sweet.
@moonhat He is. He’s also gorgeous when the camera isn’t in his face.