Amy Williams is a journalist and former social worker based in Southern California.As a mother of two, she hopes to use her own experience as a parent to help other parents raise their children to be the best that they can be.
Almost everyone has mastered the technique of twisting their phone’s camera to capture the perfect photo.
In the halls of the local high school there are undoubtedly girls posing and snapping a selfie. It has become commonplace to walk by groups of people posing and preserving a moment in time.
The Selfie Phenomenon
The selfie fad has become ingrained in our hyper connected society. There are countless jokes on late night television and celebrities seek group photo ops. The term has even made it’s way into the Webster dictionary and inspired a song.
We often associate the term “selfie” with duck faces and provocatively posed teens. However, the selfie movement goes beyond self promotion. In fact, the first selfie documented wasn’t even taken in this decade, century, or millennia!
The first selfie has been traced back to a photo chemist, Robert Cornelius snapped during the year 1839. It can be fairly safe to say that Mr. Cornelius was ahead of his time and an unknowing trendsetter. The selfie was lost to the ages until 2005 when MySpace hit the scene and soon it was catapulted to epic proportions when new smartphones equipped with cameras became popular.
Selfies By The Numbers
Social Media was the perfect vehicle for this emerging subject matter and it quickly became a phenomenon. Here is a quick rundown of a few stats about the prevalence of the selfie revolution:
- 91% of teens take or have taken a selfie
- 52% of adult females have mastered the selfie
- 50% of men admit to taking a selfie
- Females might take more selfies than men. However, men over the age of 30 tend to share more selfies than women in the same age bracket.
- Facebook appears to be the favorite site for sharing selfies
- 70% of college-aged girls share selfies on Snapchat, a disappearing messaging app
- Since 2013, the #selfie hashtag has grown 200%
- Jim Krause, photographer, claims to have created the term “selfie” during 2005
- Selfies constitute 30% of all photos taken by people aged 18 to 24 years
10 Tips For Capturing The Perfect Selfie
Selfies are often impromptu. However, they capture times spent with dear friends, highlights from a day out, or special occasions. Years later, these photos will be a wonderful collection of interests and events to look back on and enjoy in the future. Even if a selfie was clicked just to show off a good hair day- the image offers an authentic glimpse into your life.
Here are 10 suggestions to help you take amazing selfies:
- Use an app to refine images. Look for filters, clarifiers, and hue adjustments.
- Remove your phone’s protective covering. For some reason, a lot of covers can impact the clarity of a photo. Avoid mistakes and try snapping a pic without the cover.
- If needed, use a “selfie” stick to avoid including your arm in the photos.
- Avoid mirror and bathroom selfies.
- Carefully examine backgrounds before posting. Make sure there are no embarrassing mistakes lurking behind you.
- Refrain from rude posts or documenting illegal activities. Display class and avoid posting a hurtful image.
- Keep your head at a 45 degree angle. This is the most flattering position.
- Have great light. Lighting can make or break a photo.
- Steady your camera. Blurry photos are a real bummer. Hold your phone steady and slowly release the button.
- Capture your personality! This is the perfect medium for expressing yourself. Get creative and have fun.
Selfies For Prosperity
Selfies might make good fodder for comedy, but they can be used to document memories and moments in time. The President, Pope, and celebrities are embracing the craze. In fact, selfies have went galactic with travelling astronauts.
Selfies might seem unimportant, just a fun byproduct of our device driven society. These self images are wonderful tools to document a person’s life. By taking selfies and pictures, over time they are creating an evolving self portrait. You can capture your timeline using Digi Me and save or share those moments forever!
Selfies are not merely a fleeting fad, they are here to stay.