We’re not here to argue about selfies. Some people love them, some think they’re single-handedly ruining our society, and most of us can agree that #NationalSelfieDay is pretty silly on an internet where people are posting selfies all the damn time.
Whatever. There are bigger things to worry about, like whether people even know what a selfie is. Because it appears there’s a lot of confusion.
The word doing the heavy lifting in “selfie” is self, because a selfie is a photo that you take of yourself. Not just any photo of yourself, and not even a photo that you take after setting up the timer on your laptop. A selfie is a photo in which you’re simultaneously posing for a photo and holding the device which is taking said photo.
So, not these.
https://twitter.com/beaubecraft/status/745277187595501568
#NationalSelfieDay pic.twitter.com/YQQxJBQ4rP
— Zakk (@ZakkisBatman) June 21, 2016
https://twitter.com/Dartanion/status/745277044615876608
#NationalSelfieDay Leon #Dobermann pic.twitter.com/CnQviYfJlY
— Dizzy Recymech (@drecymech) June 21, 2016
Happy #NationalSelfieDay! Share with us a photo of you in your favorite eyeglasses! pic.twitter.com/RJUNaPUFB4
— Eyes On Missouri (@EyesOnMissouri) June 21, 2016
A picture you take of your pet is not a selfie. A picture you take of someone else is not a selfie. An illustration of some random dude is not a selfie!!!!
Well its #NationalSelfieDay Here’s one of @TheRevTweets in all his glory #Selfie #Beer pic.twitter.com/vTI9dDU9x4
— Brains (@brainsbrewery) June 21, 2016
“Wait, let me take a selfie.” Happy #NationalSelfieDay! 📷@katiejocrall pic.twitter.com/fFr53sbxxE
— The Humane Society of the United States (@HumaneSociety) June 21, 2016
It’s like words don’t even have meaning anymore.
We can see where people would get confused. A selfie being just any photo of yourself sounds intuitive, but that is called a portrait. It also seems a bit arbitrary as to why a photo taken with the use of a selfie stick would count, and one taken with a timer on a laptop or camera wouldn’t.
But look, I don’t make the rules. A selfie is what a selfie is, and these are not selfies. If you’ve got a problem with that, take it up with Merriam-Webster.
