Thanks to social media and the smartphone, June 21st recognizes a form of self-portrait that couldn’t exist without them—the “selfie.” As a result, it’s National Selfie Day! Today we are encouraged to take creative (and appropriate) selfies and share them on social media.
Taking a selfie happened decades before social media, but with smartphones, the popularity of taking these self-portraits and the ability to do so has never been easier. With the word “selfie” now in the Oxford dictionary, selfie sticks and multi-functional camera phones make it easy to take these kinds of photographs as well as group selfies (aka groupies).
Did you know that 93 million selfies are posted per day? On top of that, 10 selfies are posted to Instagram every 10 seconds.
Admittedly, the “selfie generation” has its critics, yet there are some positive aspects of taking a selfie.
- Brings people together —people use group selfies to bring people together and commemorate the moment. Also known as “groupies.”
- Progress Pictures —if you love working out, with goals to reach with your fitness, keeping track of your gains and progress is essential. In 2016, most Mirror selfies meant all kinds of gym-goers were either lifting weights at the gym or practicing their posing and flexing for a fitness competition—in front of a mirror.
- Easy to do—probably the most accessible type of photo to take. Open front-facing camera. Pose. Snap.