Selfies!
If you do not know what ‘Selfie’ is all about, then you have committed an offence by missing out on what is a global phenomenon. Nevertheless, you have been pardoned and I would gladly update you on what you have missed.
A selfie is a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a hand-held digital camera or camera phone and shared on any social networking platform.
Selfies have indeed taken over and virtually no one is getting left behind. From the infamous selfie of President Barack Obama, Prime Minister David Cameron, and Denmark Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service to the famous Oscar selfie of Hollywood’s A-list stars and even the Pope alongside teenagers. It goes to show that selfies are indeed a fun trend that almost everyone wants to be a part of.
American photography pioneer, Robert Cornelius was the first person to have taken a selfie in 1839. This newbie word was coined on the internet and first appeared on an Australian internet forum in 2002. The word went on to gain concrete recognition by being added to the Oxford Online Dictionary and was also announced as word of the year in 2013.
WOW!
It’s no wonder people are going all out for the perfect selfie and thankfully there are many ways to achieve this feat. The first is to snap a series of pictures with different poses until the near perfect one is taken, then all others are deleted and the chosen one uploaded. The next option is to become your very own Picasso by downloading a photo shop application on to your gadget and edit your photo thereby giving yourself your preferred facial structure, eye colour and a host of other things at your discretion. The third option as per Beyonce Carter is the ‘Flawless’ selfie. This is when you post your selfie, flaws and all with no care as to what anyone thinks.
The options listed above are all in good fun; however, there are others who go to bizarre lengths for the perfect selfie. It was reported in the earlier part of 2014 that a woman spent a whopping $15,000 on plastic surgery all in the quest for a perfect instagram selfie. Apparently, no filter or photo-editing app was good enough for her pictures, so she underwent a nose job, a chin implant, Botox and fat grafting to change how she looks. According to the woman, “Not everyone is born beautiful, and if you can get a little help from an app or a nip-tuck then more power to you.”
Oh my!
Yes we are still talking about selfies here. As alarming as it may seem, she is just one of many who have taken the selfie fun to another level.
That’s it for today on selfies, don’t forget to join the fun if you haven’t.
Have an awesome Sunday.
Oluwaseyi Lawal