President Barack Obama was seen posing for a selfie during Nelson Mandela’s memorial service a few months ago, according to ABCnews.com. The word “selfie” was introduced into the Oxford English Dictionary and claimed the title of “word of the year” in 2013, according to CNN.
The history of selfies dates back to the 1970s when Andy Warhol would pose for selfies with a Polaroid camera, according to The Guardian.
Flash forward to 2014, where selfies are almost inescapable on Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. Selfies are synonymous with millennials, Generation Y and now, Generation Z.
The debate on selfies can become heated, with proponents and opponents of selfies voicing their opinions.
There is speculation about the selfie Obama participated in at Mandela’s memorial service, as well as Pope Francis’ selfie participation in August 2013.
In this selfie, Pope Francis is posing with a group of teenagers in front of the Vatican. Pope Francis is the first pope to ever join the selfie wave, according to The Independent.
Selfies can be judged poorly and seen as a narcissist trend among public figures and non-celebrities alike. Many argue it’s inappropriate for influential, public figures to willingly participate in selfies.
My stance on this “dire” issue is simple: “It’s just a selfie, yo.” As a self-proclaimed princess in the selfie game, I see some validity in the conservative argument against selfies. I choose the word “princess” instead of “queen” for a number of reasons.
I do see some selfies as unnecessary and borderline insensitive. Obama probably should not have involved himself in a selfie during a memorial service. Even the first lady, Michelle Obama, was not a fan of his selfie choice, according to the New York Post.
In defending President Obama, he didn’t actually take the selfie and just posed in for a quick snap.
Actor and comedian Steve Harvey interviewed President Obama late last year on his show. Harvey expressed a strong defense for Obama’s selfie.
Harvey said that the memorial service was a celebration of Mandela’s life and he thought Obama’s selfie was perfectly fine.
My concern with the future of selfies involves incidents where selfies blur the lines of fun into ridiculously offensive territory.
For example, I’m disgusted with the launch of selfieswithhomelesspeople.tumblr.com. This site is generating a high volume of criticism this week from news outlets like USA TODAY and New York Daily News.
I agree with the negative outlook, but found it necessary it be brought to light. The issue is that I’ve become a part of the problem. I hang my head down in shame with generating publicity for this deplorable website.
The website has a link on the bottom of the page where people can donate to a few organizations in preventing homelessness.
I have to scroll down to the bottom of the page in order to find the links, which are easy to miss. Of course, the website creator, Jason Feifer, chose to defend his work on the top of the page with “compiled (not endorsed by) @HEYFEIFER.”
I’m all for taking selfies for fun and I have no opinion on people who dedicate their social media posts to selfies, even though I keep mine away from social media.
I felt connected to President Obama and Pope Francis once I saw their selfies scattered throughout the media.
On the flip side, Feifer is a disgusting human being and I’d never want to see his selfie.