I really don’t like them…but I don’t get selfies. Why the sudden need to take photos of yourself all the time?
Barcelona is a very busy city and there are many tourists. Quite a few of those were waving selfie sticks all over the place. Here is me with a pout. Here is me with a smile. Here is me twirling around, yes really.
Most didn’t seem to be aware of their surroundings. I saw people taking photos of themselves in front of blank walls, rubbish bins, stairwells and advertising posters. That must make for some fine viewing later.
These 2 at least were trying to get the Sagrada Familia in the background, but most seemed oblivious to anything besides themselves.
My friend, who shares my view on selfie sticks, developed a strategy for a bit of photo bombing. She managed to sidle up behind the selfie takers and position herself between the couple for the photo. Not one person even noticed. PC will be in many Barcelona tourists shots.
I am pleased that the silly things have been banned in a few galleries and museums, a trend I hope continues.
What do you think of selfie sticks?
I’m in total agreement with you, Debra. Hate ’em! I was just in Venice and Florence and we were hassled by selfie stick vendors everywhere. I was bumped on the head with a stick and practically had an eye poked out. But the hordes of selfie stick vendors make it clear that people are snapping them up. People need more pix of themselves to post on FB, I guess. đ
By: jann on June 2, 2015
at 6:59 pm
I think they are a menace. Sagrada Familia is jammed with people and sticks are waving all over the place.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 2, 2015
at 7:03 pm
I cannot STAND the darn things…. They are totally intrusive, and people using them don’t look where they are going…. I could rant on even more, but will just ask the question “why this total narcissism?”
By: Sue on June 2, 2015
at 7:02 pm
I hope it is a fad that disappears soon.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 2, 2015
at 7:04 pm
You and me both!!
By: Sue on June 2, 2015
at 7:05 pm
Sadly, it won’t because egocenricity dominates their thinking. It is more important to satisfy their ego than to be aware of other people. Their vanity also causes them to ignore the beauty of the landscape, architecture … to focus on themselves. The irony is that most selfies are excellent examples of sloppy photography.
By: peter on June 3, 2015
at 5:58 am
I think you are correct.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 7:09 am
I’m 100% in agreement.
By: Tuxedo Sophisticated Cat on June 2, 2015
at 7:44 pm
I wonder if they realise how silly they look.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 5:08 am
I think they’re utterly ridiculous. People are far too obsessed with photographing themselves.
By: anotherday2paradise on June 2, 2015
at 8:14 pm
Surely it isn’t necessary to have so many photos of yourself.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 5:07 am
I totally agree, Debra. I can only guess that there are more silly people than we thought…. Looks as if it is also contagious….
By: Mulino Dominillo on June 2, 2015
at 8:21 pm
I hope it passes soon.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 5:06 am
I agree too. I especially hate all the pouting!
By: janetknight57 on June 2, 2015
at 8:35 pm
I wonder if they practise in front of a mirror.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 5:05 am
You are not alone…..the vendors drove us crazy in Florence and Rome and I had commented to Paul before we left Ischia wasn’t it NICE not see anyone even using a “selfie” our entire six weeks there. People who use definitely are missing out on seeiing what they SHOULD be storing into their memory banks within their heads.
By: Anonymous on June 2, 2015
at 8:37 pm
I don’t understand the obsession with self, it is all too much.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 5:04 am
Please don’t hate me for this, but I must say that I quite enjoy having a selfie stick, if used responsibly. And here’s my reason for liking it and having one: on our last trip, we traveled with some friends and wanted to take some pics of the 4 of us in front of some monument or other beautiful place. Instead of having strangers using our cell phones and not being in control of what they were taking a picture of, we were able to use a selfie stick and by putting the camera on a timer, were able to position the cell phone for that perfect shot showing all of us AND the place of interest. But I agree with you that they can be obnoxious in crowded places and also if you aren’t aware of your surroundings and others around you.
By: tesorotreasures on June 2, 2015
at 8:46 pm
I can see the point of them and clearly someone is making lots of money with them, but it is all a bit silly when it is overdone. We were standing in a queue with a group with a selfie stick. They must have taken 50 photos of themselves with different expressions. There was much hair fiddling and posing. At least one photo has PC in the background.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 5:03 am
Selfie – says it all really doesn’t it. It’s possibly an unfortunate tag that brands everyone alike. I do like the idea of the Stealth Photo-Bomber – that’s funny.
By: Jan on June 2, 2015
at 10:40 pm
We were highly amused by her performance.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 5:01 am
dislike them immensely – and when you see the results they all look distorted , and silly. and as for those sticks poking out everywhere should be stopped in public places and then they would lose interest in them .
By: Dianne CANT on June 2, 2015
at 11:25 pm
It is a fad that will surely pass when something else comes along to take its place.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 5:00 am
Whoever invented this idea has started a totally annoying trend. Your friend sneaking in the photo from behind is funny!
By: Sandra Hoopmann on June 2, 2015
at 11:40 pm
She developed quite a technique.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 4:59 am
Your second paragraph repeats a key word three times. You’ve nailed it! Any selfie with or without the stick, when overdone is only about me Me ME!
By: Mallee Stanley on June 2, 2015
at 11:57 pm
That is the really annoying bit.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 4:58 am
Love my selfie stick. Works especially because I spend a fair chunk of time on my own and want to share / show I am a) really in that place (This is what I look like) b) see more than just my mug, and c) this is the coolest thing Iâve done all week.
But I can appreciate they are not for everyone.
By: Anna @ shenANNAgans on June 3, 2015
at 12:18 am
I can see the point, but most users are more interested in photographing themselves rather that where they are.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 4:58 am
Seriously darling — it’s just a bloody photo and I know someone who takes lots of em đ
By: Richard the terrible on June 3, 2015
at 12:27 am
I take lots of photos, but I’m not in them.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 4:53 am
I can’t stand them but I am not the audience.
By: Gerlinde on June 3, 2015
at 12:36 am
The audience is quite large right now.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 4:57 am
I have a couple of blogger friends who use selfies occasionally in their array of photos and it adds a nicely personal note, but by and large I’m baffled by the craze, with or without the stick… But then there’s a lot about people’s current addiction/obsession with technology and social media that baffles me.
By: yogaleigh on June 3, 2015
at 1:59 am
I don’t get it either. I was with one young woman in Verona at a lovely site and she took a dozen photos of herself against a blank wall. She wasn’t even looking at where she was…why?
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 4:56 am
I HATE THEM!!!! In totally agreement with everything you say, and SO GLAD you wrote it!!
By: The Daily Cure on June 3, 2015
at 4:39 am
I think it is the self obsession that annoys my the most.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 4:54 am
Agree again! Somehow seeing ourselves posed and “perfect” is more important than the world around us. I watched a girl on the tram yesterday primp and pose and tip and angle for about twenty minutes, armed stretched out with phone, with absolutely no regard to those around her. It was incredible. Laughable and depressing.
By: The Daily Cure on June 3, 2015
at 5:27 am
It is depressing to watch that behaviour. I’m sure their friends aren’t interested in looking at their photos, they would be too. Use looking at photos of themselves.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 7:10 am
I agree with you dear Debra đ
By: niasunset on June 3, 2015
at 5:07 am
They are silly things.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 5:08 am
I am with you Deb. I don’t like them and I don’t get it. I traveled with a woman who took dozens of selfies every time we went anywhere. Just awful.
By: Lyn on June 3, 2015
at 6:41 am
I think I know who that might have been.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 3, 2015
at 7:08 am
While I can see the point of them, I prefer to use the timer on my camera, or have someone else take a picture of me, or me & whoever I’m with. Being so far from friends and family, I appreciate when I get to see photos of them and I figure they feel the same way about me. But then I still mainly use a camera for photos, not my phone. Perhaps that is mainly fueling the craze? Besides the whole ego thing, I mean. The vendors and non-situationally-aware stick wavers do annoy me.
By: sheilasunshine on June 3, 2015
at 7:58 am
I really noticed the sticks in Barcelona because there were so many of them.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 5, 2015
at 5:54 am
Neither of us take enough selfies to warrant purchasing a stick. On the other hand, I can understand the pros and cons shared by others in the comments.
By: aFrankAngle on June 3, 2015
at 11:23 am
I can also see a use for them, but it seems to me that most users are just taking photos of themselves, why bother?
By: Debra Kolkka on June 5, 2015
at 5:53 am
Good point.
By: aFrankAngle on June 5, 2015
at 10:47 am
Real photographers don’t use selfie sticks! Don’t like them either Debra! Goggled over your cheeky friend’s photo bombing idea!
By: Pauline on June 4, 2015
at 1:37 am
Oops! Giggled not goggled!
By: Pauline on June 4, 2015
at 1:38 am
Love the photobomb idea! LOL. We aren’t big into selfies. We’ll take one a day maybe when traveling to send to our families. But that’s it. Due to my short arms they don’t always come out so it’s a pain in the neck to do. Sometimes I wish I had a stick if we are in front of something big and I can’t get it all in. Other than that I find them silly and intrusive. We were at the WWII memorial in DC and this young woman was walking looking up at her phone on the stick. Couldn’t figure out what the hell she was doing.
By: Our Growing Paynes on June 4, 2015
at 4:21 pm
I think some people have forgotten how to actually look at their surroundings and really appreciate them.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 5, 2015
at 5:52 am
Sad really.
By: Our Growing Paynes on June 5, 2015
at 10:08 am
I’m not a fan of selfies in general, and it seems a bad idea when in high-traffic areas. A few weeks ago, afriend got her wallet stolen while using a selfie stick on the Ponte Vecchio!
By: Jackie Cangro on June 4, 2015
at 5:59 pm
Thieves love a distraction.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 5, 2015
at 5:51 am
Hehe. I don’t think you need to ask me what I think of them Deb. You’ll have a pretty good idea already. I love taking photos but not of me!
By: janinevasta on June 5, 2015
at 4:20 am
I would rather not be in my photos…how boring for everyone.
By: Debra Kolkka on June 5, 2015
at 5:51 am
You made me smile! Even without seeing your smiling face Deb. x
By: janinevasta on June 5, 2015
at 5:52 am
I was actually more annoyed at the super pushy vendors of these sticks more than the sticks themselves. The sticks themselves are quite a clever idea – though as has been mentioned make tourists an easy target for pick pockets
By: italyonmymind on June 6, 2015
at 9:07 pm
And banning them in museums is a great idea as people become so self-focussed they lose sight of their surroundings!
By: italyonmymind on June 6, 2015
at 9:09 pm
Hey are so incredibly bizarre! Selfies are weird in the first place.
By: thirdeyemom on June 8, 2015
at 7:03 pm
I love the idea of photo bombing selfies!! I shall have to try that!!! ;o)
By: lizbert1 on June 8, 2015
at 8:20 pm