“The selfie stick has been framed by my peers as a risible technology of which ownership is akin to the forfeiture of good taste,” Chris Plante writes for The Verge.
“For the past year or so I kind of agreed. I’ve been at best disinterested and at worst disgusted by what seemed to be a over-priced, vanity-promoting retractable camera mount,” Plante writes. “But a holiday trip to Disneyland convinced me the selfie stick deserves respect.”
“Disneyland was infected with selfie stick families, some of whom I spotted removing the plastic wrapping at the front gate. The selfie stick is the opposite of the tablet camera. With a GoPro mounted at its end, the device is unobtrusive and dimly lit, disappearing deftly during the nighttime parade. Even with a smartphone attached, the stick held the device above the crowds, giving it a better angle and everyone else a clearer view,” Plante writes. “And that’s just the stick’s application for general photography. For selfies, the tool made it easier for entire families to fit into photographs together.”
Read more in the full article here.
So much of what is published today is such drivel it just wastes space. At least we don’t have to cut down trees anymore to circulate this stuff.
Disagree. This article resonated for me. Living on the Hollywoood Walk of Fame, I see people find their favorite star and take a selfie with it. A simple act of joy and if having a stick that helps them get a good pic, more power to them. More people are using them without shame. Same with photo taking with iPads. Can’t we all just get along?
No not when you are standing behind a selfish idiot with a bloody iPad trying to get a Memory of something rather than experiencing it first hand and destroying your ability to do so in the process. Also one or two selfie sticks might be less obtrusive but loads of them are like watching a distant event through a forest and its growing so fast that is inevitable I suspect especially where Japanese tourists arrive.
Akin to sitting behind big hair, and/or hats in a movie theatre? If you remember that …
As selfie sticks rise in popularity so, I hope, will squirt guns…our only defense…
I didn’t know that some people were against these. What is the problem? It is a simple device that lets you make a better picture or video. I’ve used it on business trips to make short videos of myself to send to my family. Because of the longer distance there is more scenery and less of me in the field of view. What’s wrong with that? Would the critics rather that people setup bulky tripods?
In MY day, selfie stick was something sexual. You kids today.. 🙂
now just used for underskirt photos, gee nothing changes after all these years
I too was just in Disneyland in Hong Kong. Self sticks are EVERYWHERE in Asia. I looked to my wife and said that at some point this would be one of those things we all made fun of “back in the day” but soon realize that we need one. She countered. My wife was taking a photo of the kids and a stranger approached to see if wanted a photo with all of us. A selfie stick would have prevented us from meeting this kind and thoughtful stranger. It could be argued that it’s really a “don’t talk to me I can handle this myself” anti-social stick.
“It could be argued that it’s really a “don’t talk to me I can handle this myself” anti-social stick.”
And just what is wrong with that?
Personally, I’d much rather be self sufficient than needy and overly dependent on any assistance from others/society. Being “anti-social” (a term unworthy of being a pejorative) is something many members of “society” could use a lot more of.
It is a sad society when we prefer avoiding social interaction rather than enjoying an excuse to initiate it. Humans are inherently social and avoiding social interaction can be detrimental to their mental wellbeing.
I see snowboarders using these all the time. Strikes me as a pretty damn boring video, a moving picture of yourself wiggling on your snowboard with scenery receding behind you.
Now, if there was such a thing as a split screen cam with a forward facing half so the viewer could see where and what was coming up, that night work.