# Selfie Stick user, stick it up yourself! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 18, 2014, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573 "2014-12-18T15:14:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/121 "2014-12-23T18:03:39Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > [hijack] What’s douchebaggy about a Bluetooth? I use mine to listen to podcasts on my phone every day, wirelessly, and I always pause it when someone speaks to me. [/hijack] I doubt anyone cares if you’re just listening to something. Mr. Self-Important Business Guy kind of ruined their image when you might encounter him yapping away nonstop on his “Jawbone” or other such device at the store, in the restroom, on the bus, in the airport, etc. > [@Pai325](#): > > My daughter travels a lot by herself. She doesn’t want to hand her camera to some random guy to take a picture of her somewhere. She doesn’t want a picture of the Eiffel Tower or wherever by itself, because she can buy a postcard with a better picture. > > She shares the pictures with me, and I want to see her. I want to see what she is wearing and the expression on her face. She likes to look back and remember what she was wearing, or what she looked like in Paris at twenty, or whatever. > > And I was always the family photographer, so we have hundreds of pictures of my daughter and my husband on vacation, but few of us as a family and fewer of me and my daughter. I would ask my husband o take pictures and hey usually ended up blurry or with me in a rage because he just didn’t get how to take the pictures, or how to wait until we were set and smiling, or anything. In most of the pictures of my daughter and me I have a very angry look on my face because it has never occurred to him in 42 years to offer to take one. > > So although my daughter doesn’t have a selfie stick, I’m ready to buy her one. Do her a favor and buy her a decent camera instead. Something with a zoom that starts at 24mm should allow her to sufficiently selfie. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/122 "2014-12-24T03:49:29Z")
> [@caused\_two](#): > > Is selfie not just short for [self portrait](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-portrait)? I thought it was short for “self-centered” or “self-obsessed”. ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/123 "2014-12-24T14:28:10Z")
My husband and I were at a fairly nice (and crowded) restaurant on Saturday and there was a group of older people at a table near us. Suddenly one of the ‘gentlemen’ pulled out a selfie-stick and started taking pictures of his group while the rest of them oohed and ahhed over the new technology. In that situation, isn’t it just easier to get the waitstaff to click a few pix for you? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/124 "2014-12-24T16:07:32Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > “_I’d_ like a photo that has _you_ in it” I can sort of grasp. > > “_I’d_ like a photo that has _me_ in it” I can’t quite understand. Selfies are for an audience, not just for the person who made the picture. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/125 "2014-12-24T16:08:45Z")
> [@Mr.Me](#): > > Today’s [Cyanide and Happiness](http://explosm.net/comics/3786/) sums up a lot of people’s feelings about selfie sticks. Have they ever used animation inside a frame like that before? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/126 "2014-12-24T17:07:27Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Selfies are for an audience, not just for the person who made the picture. I’m sure they are _distributed_ to an audience. I wonder what proportion of that audience _actually_ want to see them. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/127 "2014-12-24T19:05:42Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I’m sure they are _distributed_ to an audience. I wonder what proportion of that audience _actually_ want to see them. Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about your posts… ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/128 "2014-12-24T19:23:20Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about your posts… But then I don’t claim my posts in on the SDMP are for anyone’s amusement but my own. Read the thread or don’t, respond or don’t. As a great person once said…meh. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/129 "2014-12-24T19:23:48Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Have they ever used animation inside a frame like that before? It’s animated gif week. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2014, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/130 "2014-12-25T00:10:16Z")
> [@arseNal](#): > > Just wanted to note that the OP has done the seemingly impossible – to pit, on the _ **SDMB** _, a doodad that allows someone to _ **block the sidewalk** _ in order use their \*\*\*cellphone \*\*\*to actually \*\*\*take pictures \*\*\*(\*\*\*of oneself \*\*\*no less) – and manage to have it backfire. > > Pretty impressive. Bingo. I’m quite impressed that he took an idea that should’ve have been a slam dunk and managed to sell me the opposite view. Thank you OP. > [@TheFaerie](#): > > My husband and I were at a fairly nice (and crowded) restaurant on Saturday and there was a group of older people at a table near us. Suddenly one of the ‘gentlemen’ pulled out a selfie-stick and started taking pictures of his group while the rest of them oohed and ahhed over the new technology. In that situation, isn’t it just easier to get the waitstaff to click a few pix for you? Because bothering busy waitstaff to snap a picture that you can take on your own (with a _gasp_ selfie stick) makes you a big douche. Not bothering the waitstaff is the less entitled way to act. I’m finding that selfie sticks are actually more considerate than other options. I don’t bother the waiters or strangers. And the space I take might even bit slightly less than asking a person to take my picture. Can someone recommend a good selfie stick? This thread has sold me on their virtues. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2014, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/131 "2014-12-25T01:12:05Z")
> [@Mr.Me](#): > > Today’s [Cyanide and Happiness](http://explosm.net/comics/3786/) sums up a lot of people’s feelings about selfie sticks. This is exactly the way I felt yesterday when swamped by several hordes of Asian tourists, all armed with selfie-sticks. Gave me Korean War flashbacks, and almost made me perpetrate a hate crime or three. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2014, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/132 "2014-12-25T09:32:51Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > Bingo. I’m quite impressed that he took an idea that should’ve have been a slam dunk and managed to sell me the opposite view. Thank you OP. You are welcome. What people seem to missing is the only thing I complained about was people using them in a way that inconvenienced other people. This being the internet of course, what was _actually_ said takes second place to what people _think_ was said. For instance > [@](#): > > Because bothering busy waitstaff to snap a picture that you can take on your own (with a _gasp_ selfie stick) makes you a big douche. Not bothering the waitstaff is the less entitled way to act. I agree wholeheartedly with, and what’s more… > [@](#): > > I’m finding that selfie sticks are actually more considerate than other options. I don’t bother the waiters or strangers. And the space I take might even bit slightly less than asking a person to take my picture. I can fully support, however…waving it around oblivious to those around you and making people avoid you (i.e. the bit I was _actually_ complaining about) is not considerate behaviour. Therefore I reserve the right to brand such people as “dicks”. I certainly did comment that people taking selfies look ridiculous and that using selfie sticks only moreso. Again this being the internet people seem to want to believe that this makes me some sort of misanthropic, sociopathic monster. t’was ever thus. The possibility of thinking someone looks ridiculous and yet bearing them no ill will, nor thinking them a bad person, is too difficult to contemplate for some. I was at a theme park recently and saw quite a few teenage children (and some grown ups) walking round in patterned “onesie” type pyjamas. I thought they looked ridiculous, I’m on a skiing holiday at the moment and the various get-ups you see are enough to frighten the horses. None of that is a judgement on the person themselves but again, this being the internet, people really, really want to believe it is. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2014, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/133 "2014-12-25T10:18:22Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Why would my next question be “…so?” Selfies taken at solemn events such as funerals do seem pretty stupid. (If that ever actually happens.) Are you kidding? Some of the very first selfies captured the most solemn events you could possibly imagine. Like [the crucifixion of Jesus](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francisco_de_Zurbar%C3%A1n_046.jpg). (The rubbernecker on the right is the artist himself, Francisco Zurbarán.) ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2014, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/134 "2014-12-25T11:10:29Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Are you kidding? Some of the very first selfies captured the most solemn events you could possibly imagine. Like [the crucifixion of Jesus](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francisco_de_Zurbar%C3%A1n_046.jpg). (The rubbernecker on the right is the artist himself, Francisco Zurbarán.) At least he didn’t do “rabbit ears” (on the final version anyway) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/135 "2014-12-25T17:07:34Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Are you kidding? Some of the very first selfies captured the most solemn events you could possibly imagine. Like [the crucifixion of Jesus](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francisco_de_Zurbar%C3%A1n_046.jpg). (The rubbernecker on the right is the artist himself, Francisco Zurbarán.) Duck face woulda lightened the mood. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/136 "2014-12-25T19:56:06Z")
> [@TheFaerie](#): > > My husband and I were at a fairly nice (and crowded) restaurant on Saturday and there was a group of older people at a table near us. Suddenly one of the ‘gentlemen’ pulled out a selfie-stick and started taking pictures of his group while the rest of them oohed and ahhed over the new technology. In that situation, isn’t it just easier to get the waitstaff to click a few pix for you? People have been engaging in self-gratifying annoying behavior with cameras at restaurants since long before the advent of cellphone cameras. I recall in particular a guy with an expensive-looking SLR at the next table in a semi-upscale restaurant who decided it was a good idea to get up and take about a dozen flash photos of his dinner companions. Yes, I greatly enjoy the semi-paparrazzi experience whenever I eat out at a nice place. Here’s hoping that cheap portable surface-to-air missile technology keeps up with consumer drone camera technology. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/137 "2015-01-05T20:32:57Z")
I think it all comes down to whether you think either: - Being at the attraction or - Being able to show people that you were at the attraction is more important to you. Enjoying the attraction? Take a picture of it. Want to tell someone “look where _I_ was last weekend”? Take a selfie. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/138 "2015-01-13T19:43:04Z")
> **[But First, Let Me Take a Selfie Stick](https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/first-let-me-take-selfie-stick-n284151)** > > Some think of it as a must-have. Others consider it narcissistic. The selfie stick has made its way into our culture. Made me think of this topic ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/139 "2015-01-14T13:53:04Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > All you people hating on the selfie stick must have really long arms and tiny heads. I got short arms and a big pumpkin head so all my selfies are of my forehead. IF ONLY I had a stick! > > I wonder why the OP is so upset with these 3-foot sticks but not too bothered by the 6-foot invisible force field we all must avoid while people line up a group shot of their family at the CN Tower. He must be that guy who just walks through the shot. The stick is keeping him from doing so without getting thwacked. If it’s a 6-foot invisible forcefield then you can walk through it. I’ve often done it after waiting for a bit. In certain locations, like on the middle of Tower Bridge, I just walk on because the pathway is fucking narrow and it is a major pedestrian thoroughfare. As a tourist I accept that people walking in front of me might happen. Maybe I’ll get a great shot by accident, maybe it’ll just be my friend and the back of a stranger’s head plus a bit of the setting. It’s just a memory of us being there, not an entry to best ever tourist photos from an obvious angle. Selfie sticks, however, actually stop people from passing. It’s like bringing a tractor to a motorway. On Tower Bridge due to the narrow walkway they’re a fucking nightmare. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573/140 "2015-01-14T17:05:11Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > On Tower Bridge due to the narrow walkway they’re a fucking nightmare. There’s an old moral/legal concept of “what if every0ne does it?” when evaluating behaviors. This seems to be an example of why things get prohibited. > [@Miller](#): > > But she’s married to you, so clearly her judgement is suspect. 🆒 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selfie-stick-user-stick-it-up-yourself/707573.md?page=8)