Sparkles and Shoes

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Selfie, It’s Official!

| celebrity, Instagram

Kelly Donlin Sparkles and Shoes SelfieSelfie (n): A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.

Oxford Dictionaries’ word for the year for 2013 is “selfie” and above you will find the official definition.  It is crazy that the word has been around for eleven years, first used in Australia in 2002.  I love the New Yorker’s take on it, Strictly speaking, the modern-day selfie is a digital affair, but it’s a novel iteration of an old form: the self-portrait. So true!

Selfie beat out seven competitors, including twerk, schmeat and bitcoin for the Word of the Year. According to CNN the term immensely popular across all social media platforms – there are 57 million photos bearing its hashtag — #selfie — on Instagram alone.  Another article mentioned that the selfie’s recent meteoric rise was the addition of a front-facing camera to the iPhone 4.

I fell like the world has always been in my vocabulary but it a relatively new things.  I found it astonishing that the AAA had to issue a report about the dangers of distracted driving and warned against a new trend of taking selfies while driving and uploading them to Twitter and Instagram.  I am admit, I am guilty of the occasional selfie on my Instagram account but never while driving!

Sparkles and Shoes Instagram Selfies

The most shocking fact I read was research found that the frequency of the word selfie in the English language increased by 17,000 percent since this time last year. The unofficial queen of selfies, Kim Kardashian has been reported giving the advice “Flash is our friend,” and offering a tip to shoot from above to avoid double chins.  But don’t just take my word for it, tons of celebrities love the selfie too:

Beyonce Selfie
Beyonce debuing her new hair! 

Bradley Cooper and Gerard Butler Selfie at Wimbledon

Bradley Cooper and Gerard Butler at Wimbledon 
Aki Hoshide Selfie on a Japanese space mission
Aki Hoshide on a Japanese space mission

Jessica Alba Selfie at the U.S. Open
Jessica Alba at the U.S. Open

Meryl Streep and Hillary Clinton Selfie State Department Dinner
Meryl Streep and Hillary Clinton 
at the 2012 State Department Dinner
Taylor Swift at the Grammy's
Taylor Swift at the Grammy’s 

Eminem Selfie at the Louvre
Eminem at the Louvre 

President Barak Obama Selfie
President Barak Obama at political rally

So, grab a smartphone, put on your best duck face, and celebrate.
Happy short week! 
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Comments

  7. WTFab says

    That picture of Meryl Streep and Hilary Clinton is EVERYTHING! So much awesomeness in one photo!

    Anyway, wonderful article, I’ve seen lots of hype about selfie being the word of the year but nothing that really interested me until now. You have a really great writing style.

    Xo,

    Elise

    http://www.w-t-fab.com

  8. WTFab says

    That picture of Meryl Streep and Hilary Clinton is EVERYTHING! So much awesomeness in one photo!

    Anyway, wonderful article, I’ve seen lots of hype about selfie being the word of the year but nothing that really interested me until now. You have a really great writing style.

    Xo,

    Elise

    http://www.w-t-fab.com

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