Gif courtesy of Buzzfeed Video/Giphy
I wonder how people in the future will look back on today's long metal extensions upon which people place their iPhones to capture a wide-angle selfie.That's right, I'm talking about the selfie stick. They've been banned from museums around the country and globe. Our president even used one in that weird Buzzfeed exclusive he did a week ago to promote healthcare.gov. In fact, you can even buy a Chanel selfie stick on a website called selfiesticks4less.com.
While I've written about selfies before, selfie sticks are a whole new ballgame.
Selfies are part of a set of digital tools that people use to affirm and create their identity. If that's the case, people are using this new accessory to help them say, "I am here," in a whole new way.
Where once was only the opportunity to show yourself and a small amount of what you're a part of, there's now a larger scene for you to place yourself in.
By contextualizing your place more effectively with a larger angle, you're allowing more of the setting to say who or what you are. Previously, you would have relied on your own expression or facial cues to place yourself, but now, you can use the place to your advantage. What a time to be alive.
As with any new technology, however, there are "dangers" as well. People risk knocking over statues in museums (as in the detailed New York Times article hyperlinked above).
When given the opportunity to expand their reach, people are going to take more of these photos. Does the world really need a wide-angle lens of you at the Grand Canyon? Maybe you do, but that's a hard "un-follow" for me on Instagram.
Finally, there's the opportunity for people to remove themselves even further from their surroundings. One of my favorite quotes when talking about selfies is "everything exists to end in a photograph," given to us by the late great Susan Sontag in the final sentence of "In Plato's Cave."
As with all new technology, there are pros and cons. I'd come down in favor of the increased use of the selfie stick to affirm identity and the like, but only when everyone can figure out how to integrate it into social settings without making everyone feel weird about it.
It's without a doubt that selfie sticks are here to stay, so there's really no reason to be too upset about some people going to town with an extendable aluminum arm. To quote our president, "It's 2015. It's time."
Send the reporter your favorite selfies at pnorthfe@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @peternorthfelt.
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