A selfie is a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a hand-held digital camera or camera

phone. Selfies are often shared onsocial networking services such as Facebook, Instagram,
or Twitter. They are usually flattering and made to appear casual. Most selfies are taken with a
camera held at arm's length or pointed at a mirror, rather than by using a self-timer.
Robert Cornelius, an American pioneer in photography, produced a daguerreotype of himself in 1839
which is also one of the first photographs of a person. Because the process was slow, Cornelius was
able to run into the shot for a minute or more, and then replace the lens cap. [1] He recorded on the
back "The first light Picture ever taken. 1839."[1][2]
Woman taking her picture in a mirror, ca. 1900

The debut of the portable Kodak Brownie box camera in 1900 led to photographic selfportraiturebecoming a more widespread technique. The method was usually with the use of a mirror
and stabilizing the camera either on a nearby object or on a tripod while framing via a viewfinder at
the top of the box.[3] Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna at the age of 13 was one of the
first teenagers to take her own picture using a mirror to send to a friend in 1914. In the letter that
accompanied the photograph, she wrote, "I took this picture of myself looking at the mirror. It was
very hard as my hands were trembling."[4]
The earliest usage of the word selfie has been traced to 2002 when it first appeared in an Australian
internet forum (ABC Online) on 13 September in a comment written by Nathan Hope: "Um, drunk at
a mates 21st, I tripped ofer and landed lip first (with front teeth coming a very close second) on a set
of steps. I had a hole about 1cm long right through my bottom lip. And sorry about the focus, it was a
selfie."[5][6] As with other new technologies, the protocols and etiquette for taking and disseminating
selfies remains under development, with appropriate use a matter for consideration. [7]

Popularity[edit]
The term "selfie" was discussed by photographer Jim Krause in 2005,[8] although photos anticipating
some of the formal aspects of the selfie can be seen in the self-taken photographs that were
particularly common on MySpace. Writer Kate Losse proposes that between 2006 and 2009 (when
Facebook became more popular than MySpace), the "MySpace pic" (typically "an amateurish, flashblinded self-portrait, often taken in front of a bathroom mirror") became an indication of bad taste for
users of the newer Facebook social network. Early Facebook portraits, Losse claims in contrast,
were usually well-focused and more formal, taken by others from distance. According to Losse,
improvements in designespecially the front-facing camera copied by the iPhone 4 (2010) from
Korean and Japanese mobile phones, mobile photo apps such as Instagram, and selfie sites such
as ItisMeeled to the resurgence of selfies in the early 2010s. [9]

Buzz Aldrin took the first EVA selfiein 1966.

Initially popular with young people, selfies gained wider popularity over time. [10][11] By the end of
2012, Time magazine considered selfie one of the "top 10 buzzwords" of that year; although selfies
had existed long before, it was in 2012 that the term "really hit the big time". [12] According to a 2013
survey, two-thirds of Australian women age 1835 take selfiesthe most common purpose for which
is posting on Facebook.[11] A poll commissioned by smartphone and camera maker Samsungfound
that selfies make up 30% of the photos taken by people aged 1824. [13] By 2013, the word "selfie"
had become commonplace enough to be monitored for inclusion in the online version of the Oxford
English Dictionary.[14] In November 2013, the word "selfie" was announced as being the "word of the
year" by the Oxford English Dictionary, which gave the word itself an Australian origin. [15]
Selfies have also taken beyond Earth. Selfies taken in space include those by astronauts,[16] an
image by NASA's Curiosity rover of itself on Mars,[17] and images created by an indirect method,
where a self-portrait photograph taken on Earth is displayed on a screen on a satellite, and captured
by a camera.[18]
In 2011 a crested black macaque stole a wildlife photographer's camera, and when the camera was
later recovered it was found to contain hundreds of "selfies", including one of a grinning female
macaque. This incident set off an unusual debate about copyright.[19]
In October 2013, Imagist Labs released an iOS app called Selfie, which allows users to upload
photos only from their front-facing smartphone camera. [20] The app shows a feed of public photos of
everyones selfies and from the people they follow. The app does not allow users to comment and
users can only respond with selfies. The app soon gained popularity among teenagers.
In January 2014, during the Sochi Winter Olympics, a "Selfie Olympics" meme was popular on
Twitter, where users took self-portraits in unusual situations.[21] The spread of the meme took place
with the usage of the hashtags #selfiegame and #selfieolympics.[22]
In April 2014, the advertising agency iStrategyLabs produced a two-way mirror capable of
automatically posting selfies to Twitter, using facial recognition software.[23]

The popularity of selfies in social media has been astounding.[24] Instagram has over 53 million
photos tagged with the hashtag #selfie. The word "selfie" was mentioned in Facebook status
updates over 368,000 times during a one week period in October 2013. During the same period on
Twitter, the hashtag #selfie was used in more than 150,000 tweets.

Sociology[edit]

The appeal of selfies comes from how easy they are to create and share, and the control they give
self-photographers over how they present themselves. Many selfies are intended to present a
flattering image of the person, especially to friends whom the photographer expects to be supportive.
[10][11]

However, a 2013 study of Facebook users found that posting photos of oneself correlates with

lower levels of social support from and intimacy with Facebook friends (except for those marked as
Close Friends).[25] The lead author of the study suggests that "those who frequently post photographs
on Facebook risk damaging real-life relationships."[26] The photo messaging application Snapchat is
also largely used to send selfies. Some users of Snapchat choose to send intentionally-unattractive
selfies to their friends for comedic purposes.
Posting intentionally unattractive selfies has also become common in the early 2010sin part for
their humor value, but in some cases also to explore issues of body image or as a reaction against
the perceived narcissism or over-sexualization of typical selfies.[27]

Celebrity selfies[edit]

Former South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak and footballer Ji So Yun

Many celebrities especially sex symbols post selfies for their followers on social media, and
provocative or otherwise interesting celebrity selfies are the subject of regular press coverage. Some
commentators, such as Emma Barnett of The Telegraph, have argued that sexy celebrity selfies
(and sexy non-celebrity selfies) can be empowering to the selfie-takers but harmful to women in
general as they promote viewing women as sex objects.[28] Actor and avid selfie poster James
Francowrote an op-ed for The New York Times defending this frequent use of selfies on

his Instagram page.[29] Franco defends the self-portrait stating they should not be seen as an
egocentric act, but instead a journalistic moment as it cultivates a "visual culture, the selfie quickly
and easily shows, not tells, how you're feeling, where you are, what you're doing", much like a
photojournalist image.[29]
Franco continued to write how peoples' social lives are
more electronic, we become more adept at interpreting social media. And, as our social lives
become more electronic, we become more adept at interpreting social media. A texting conversation
might fall short of communicating how you are feeling, but a selfie might make everything clear in an
instant. Selfies are tools of communication more than marks of vanity (but yes, they can be a little
vain).[29]
A selfie orchestrated by 86th Academy Awards host Ellen DeGeneres during the 2 March 2014
broadcast is the most retweeted image ever.[30][31] DeGeneres said she wanted to homage Meryl
Streep's record 18 Oscar nominations by setting a new record with her, and invited twelve other
Oscar celebrities to join them, which included Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Channing Tatum, Bradley
Cooper, Kevin Spacey, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong'o, Jared Leto and Jennifer Lawrence.
The resulting photo of the celebrities broke the previous retweet record within forty minutes, and was
retweeted over 1.8 million times in the first hour.[32][33][34] By the end of the ceremony it had been
retweeted over 2 million times, less than 24 hours later, it had been retweeted over 2.8 million times.
[31][32]

As of 24 June 2014, it has been retweeted 3,415,871 times. [35] It beat the previous record,

778,801, which was held by Barack Obama, following his victory in the 2012 presidential election.[34]
[36][37]

Politician selfies[edit]

Bill Nye takes a selfie with US President Barack Obama and Neil deGrasse Tyson at the White House

President Barack Obama made news headlines during Nelson Mandela's memorial celebration at
the Johannesburg's FNB Stadium with various world leaders, as he was snapped taking a selfie and
sharing smiles with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, and later with British Prime
Minister David Cameron, as they gathered to pay tribute to Mandela.[38] The decision to take the

selfies was considered to be in poor taste, as British political columnist Iain Martin critiqued the
behaviour as "clowning around like muppets".[38] The photos also depict the First Lady Michelle
Obama sitting next to them looking "furious and mortified". [38] Despite the criticism, Roberto Schmidt,
the photographer who captured the photos taken at the celebration, reported to the Today show it
was taken at "a jovial, celebratory portion of the service". [39]
In India, BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi posted a selfie on Twitter after voting in
Gandhinagar, India. The post became a major trending item on the micro-blogging platform. [40] In July
2014, the Swiss government is the first to take and post a picture of an entire national government
(the picture was taken by one of the seven members of the government, Alain Berset).[41]

Group selfies[edit]

A group selfie of tourists using a Selfie stick for a wider angle image.

In January 2014, Business Insider published a story referring to such images as "usies".[42] A
photograph of Pope Francis with visitors to the Vatican has been called an usie by The Daily Dot,[43]
[44]

and TMZ has used the term to describe a selfie taken of celebrity couple Justin Bieber and Selena

Gomez.[42][45]
The term "groufie" has been trademarked by Chinese phone manufacturer Huawei Technologies in
China, France, Germany, Russia, and the U.S.[46][47] The word was introduced during the launch of
its Ascend P7 smartphone in 2014.[48] Huawei defines the groufie as a panoramic selfie involving
multiple subjects, as well as background scenery, captured using the front facing, 8megapixel camera and panorama capabilities of its phones.[49][50][51]
Another term for a group selfie is "wefie", originally trademarked by Samsung in the U.S. to promote
the wide-angle lens of its NX series of cameras.[47][52][53][54]

World record[edit]
The world's largest group selfie included 2000 people and was taken on 23 November 2014 in
Brooklyn, New York at the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries. [55]