Why Do People Take "Selfies"

The "selfie" seems to be a new modern day social phenomenon associated with mobile phone technology.

My question is what is the point of the "selfie"? I mean I know who I am. One can check the mirror if one forgets. So what is it about the selfie - why do people do it? There is a whole accessory industry behind the "selfie", with "selfie sticks" and the like.

God knows! All part of the current "Look at me!" modern-day World we now inhabit. "Look who I'm with!", "Look where I am!!!", "Look what I've done!!" blah, blah blah. For 99.99999999999999999% of all selfies, who gives a damn?

Why do people take selfies?

Because they are c*nts!

Next question please

I had the good fortune to spend a week in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year (someone's got to do that sort of thing) and decided to have a trip up the Petronas towers on a spare afternoon. Got there in good time for my booking and outside were dozens and dozens of fools taking selfies of themselves with the towers in the back ground. I don't get it - surely if they'd just stood there and taken a 'normal' picture of the towers, it's implicit that they were there otherwise, who took the damned picture? Also, who wants to see a gurning fool in front of the subject of the shot?

So-called 'photo-bombing' is another activity engaged in by morons. Come the revolution...

Why do people ask complete strangers to take a photo of them (usually in a touristic destination)?

The answer to the above question will give the original reason for the selfie.
The current trend of the selfie on social media is down to stupid people wanting their five seconds of fame

Also, many of the z list celebs taking daily selfie shots, are actually asked to take a selfie, while advertising a product they are being paid to advertise.

Personally can't stand the selfie craze, pretty much every tourist destination hot spot I've been too, the experience has been ruined by people taking selfies or waving selfie sticks in my face.

John wrote:Also, many of the z list celebs taking daily selfie shots, are actually asked to take a selfie, while advertising a product they are being paid to advertise.

Personally can't stand the selfie craze, pretty much every tourist destination hot spot I've been too, the experience has been ruined by people taking selfies or waving selfie sticks in my face.

Who is asking Kim Kardashian to advertise her own enormous ar$e (that's her actual ar$e, not Kanye)

DAVE667 wrote:

John wrote:Also, many of the z list celebs taking daily selfie shots, are actually asked to take a selfie, while advertising a product they are being paid to advertise.

Personally can't stand the selfie craze, pretty much every tourist destination hot spot I've been too, the experience has been ruined by people taking selfies or waving selfie sticks in my face.

Who is asking Kim Kardashian to advertise her own enormous ar$e (that's her actual ar$e, not Kanye)

Me

DAVE667 wrote:Who is asking Kim Kardashian to advertise her own enormous ar$e (that's her actual ar$e, not Kanye)

So you've never taken a holiday snap with you or your family in it?

Can't excuse "here's me on the sofa....here's me eating a sandwich...." type selfies, but a huge number are basically just holiday snaps but, for all manner of reasons, folk don't want to ask people to take them of them like they used to and now prefer to do it themselves 'selfi-style'.

navyblueshorts wrote:I had the good fortune to spend a week in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year (someone's got to do that sort of thing) and decided to have a trip up the Petronas towers on a spare afternoon. Got there in good time for my booking and outside were dozens and dozens of fools taking selfies of themselves with the towers in the back ground. I don't get it - surely if they'd just stood there and taken a 'normal' picture of the towers, it's implicit that they were there otherwise, who took the damned picture?

Spoiler:

Never been.

Maybe it's just me but I'm loving the articles in the Daily Mail showing Floyd Mayweather on holiday in various locations. All pictures appear to taken by a camera with a timer as not a single one shows Floyd with anyone.... the friendless c*nt is alone but desperate to let people know he's available as long as you're prepared to listen to him talking about himself endlessly before retiring to you hotel room when all audio video outlets have been modified so that you are only able to see/hear programs that are about Floyd.

All that money and he can't even buy a friend willing to spend a few days with him. Beautiful.

TopHat24/7 wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:I had the good fortune to spend a week in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year (someone's got to do that sort of thing) and decided to have a trip up the Petronas towers on a spare afternoon. Got there in good time for my booking and outside were dozens and dozens of fools taking selfies of themselves with the towers in the back ground. I don't get it - surely if they'd just stood there and taken a 'normal' picture of the towers, it's implicit that they were there otherwise, who took the damned picture?

Spoiler:

Never been.

Well worth visiting KL. Damned hot when I was there though. Cosmopolitan and the food was both excellent (if one likes Asian) and cheap. Next time I'm back, planning to tack on some time to travel a bit.
Petronas Towers are impressive, as you might expect.

TopHat24/7 wrote:So you've never taken a holiday snap with you or your family in it?...

Yep, but generally I'm taking piccies of the kids/wife as the subject - not the background with them as an afterthought.

navyblueshorts wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:So you've never taken a holiday snap with you or your family in it?...

Yep, but generally I'm taking piccies of the kids/wife as the subject - not the background with them as an afterthought.

And in a selfie are the persons not the subject of the photo also??

navyblueshorts wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:I had the good fortune to spend a week in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year (someone's got to do that sort of thing) and decided to have a trip up the Petronas towers on a spare afternoon. Got there in good time for my booking and outside were dozens and dozens of fools taking selfies of themselves with the towers in the back ground. I don't get it - surely if they'd just stood there and taken a 'normal' picture of the towers, it's implicit that they were there otherwise, who took the damned picture?

Spoiler:

Never been.

Well worth visiting KL. Damned hot when I was there though. Cosmopolitan and the food was both excellent (if one likes Asian) and cheap. Next time I'm back, planning to tack on some time to travel a bit.
Petronas Towers are impressive, as you might expect.

In fairness, I was lying to make a point. Was there in December 2005. Never got a good shot of the towers though....

navyblueshorts wrote:God knows! All part of the current "Look at me!" modern-day World we now inhabit. "Look who I'm with!", "Look where I am!!!", "Look what I've done!!" blah, blah blah. For 99.99999999999999999% of all selfies, who gives a damn?

While this accurate, its also the point of social media. Don't like it don't go on it. Don't like the people posting selfies don't follow them.

kingraf wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:God knows! All part of the current "Look at me!" modern-day World we now inhabit. "Look who I'm with!", "Look where I am!!!", "Look what I've done!!" blah, blah blah. For 99.99999999999999999% of all selfies, who gives a damn?

While this accurate, its also the point of social media. Don't like it don't go on it. Don't like the people posting selfies don't follow them.

Problem is that if there's someone you're friends with on Facebook who is "normal" and doesn't posted endless selfies but is friends with one of those c*nts that does and your friend "likes" them, you end up seeing them anyway so it's a bit of a pain.

DAVE667 wrote:

kingraf wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:God knows! All part of the current "Look at me!" modern-day World we now inhabit. "Look who I'm with!", "Look where I am!!!", "Look what I've done!!" blah, blah blah. For 99.99999999999999999% of all selfies, who gives a damn?

While this accurate, its also the point of social media. Don't like it don't go on it. Don't like the people posting selfies don't follow them.

Problem is that if there's someone you're friends with on Facebook who is "normal" and doesn't posted endless selfies but is friends with one of those c*nts that does and your friend "likes" them, you end up seeing them anyway so it's a bit of a pain.

Just don't have a Tw*tbook account then you'll never have to worry. Then you can be a pompous and sanctimonious c*nt like me.

TopHat24/7 wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:So you've never taken a holiday snap with you or your family in it?...

Yep, but generally I'm taking piccies of the kids/wife as the subject - not the background with them as an afterthought.

And in a selfie are the persons not the subject of the photo also??

Arguably, but the point, the absolute point, with selfies is to say to anyone who gives a feck - "Look who I'm with/where I am/what I'm doing!" etc. Maybe I'm over-sensitive with these....nah.

kingraf wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:God knows! All part of the current "Look at me!" modern-day World we now inhabit. "Look who I'm with!", "Look where I am!!!", "Look what I've done!!" blah, blah blah. For 99.99999999999999999% of all selfies, who gives a damn?

While this accurate, its also the point of social media. Don't like it don't go on it. Don't like the people posting selfies don't follow them.

To be fair, I don't although...what's this place? Damn.
Not on Muppet and only on Facebook to try and track down some (arguably) dodgy student practice re. coursework.

A selfie is a good way of getting a photo of yourself on holiday without some local legging it with your camera.

That's a self photograph and entirely different entity to the selfie.

In the interests of full disclosure, when I first heard the term selfie, the person who said it to me said it as a joke accompanied by a sh*t eating grin and a wink after we'd been discussing a particularly large breasted girl. So for the first 4-5 days after hearing it, I took 'selfie' to mean w*nk. So I was seriously disturbed when my dad asked me if I wanted a selfie stick as he'd managed to pick up a few scuffed and scratched ones that his workplace couldn't sell.

Galted wrote:A selfie is a good way of getting a photo of yourself on holiday without some local legging it with your camera.

Stop going on holiday in Rotherham would be my advice.

Rowley wrote:

Galted wrote:A selfie is a good way of getting a photo of yourself on holiday without some local legging it with your camera.

Stop going on holiday in Rotherham would be my advice.

I have had a vision of all 30 stones of you running away with the camera and Galted standing there perplexed at your lack of speed looking frantically underneath your feet for the apparently invisible treadmill.

Rowley wrote:

Galted wrote:A selfie is a good way of getting a photo of yourself on holiday without some local legging it with your camera.

Stop going on holiday in Rotherham would be my advice.

The ultimate in survival trips for a Ray Mears enthusiast.

ShahenshahG wrote:In the interests of full disclosure, when I first heard the term selfie, the person who said it to me said it as a joke accompanied by a sh*t eating grin and a wink after we'd been discussing a particularly large breasted girl. So for the first 4-5 days after hearing it, I took 'selfie' to mean w*nk. So I was seriously disturbed when my dad asked me if I wanted a selfie stick as he'd managed to pick up a few scuffed and scratched ones that his workplace couldn't sell.

navyblueshorts wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:So you've never taken a holiday snap with you or your family in it?...

Yep, but generally I'm taking piccies of the kids/wife as the subject - not the background with them as an afterthought.

And in a selfie are the persons not the subject of the photo also??

Arguably, but the point, the absolute point, with selfies is to say to anyone who gives a feck - "Look who I'm with/where I am/what I'm doing!" etc. Maybe I'm over-sensitive with these....nah.

I think the only difference is that photo albums are now public. And there's may be more 'look at me' a-holeness in society these days, which is what happens when morons turn bigger morons rich for no reason other than being photographed and/or exposing themselves on 'reality tv'.

TopHat24/7 wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:So you've never taken a holiday snap with you or your family in it?...

Yep, but generally I'm taking piccies of the kids/wife as the subject - not the background with them as an afterthought.

And in a selfie are the persons not the subject of the photo also??

Arguably, but the point, the absolute point, with selfies is to say to anyone who gives a feck - "Look who I'm with/where I am/what I'm doing!" etc. Maybe I'm over-sensitive with these....nah.

I think the only difference is that photo albums are now public. And there's may be more 'look at me' a-holeness in society these days, which is what happens when morons turn bigger morons rich for no reason other than being photographed and/or exposing themselves on 'reality tv'.

Agreed.....
"look at me, I'm just as crazy/wacky/kooky and out there as all these other famous people."
"I should be famous too."
"Aren't I interesting?"
"My life would make a great movie"

C*NTS!!!!!!!

Genuinely perplexed at what seems to be the prevailing notion where asking someone (likely a complete stranger) to take a photo of you on holiday is somehow less selfish or look at me (ironic because you are litterally asking someone who probably didn't give Frak about your doings to look at you to take a snap) . As for taking photos of yourself.... People who share one on the hour are admittedly annoying but I think there's nothing wrong with the odd selfie.