In Defense of the Selfie Stick

The people I know tend to be of the non-materialistic type who value experiences over stuff and see selfies as an example of narcissism. Sometimes we have a tendency to look down on people who have different interests than us and I see a lot of snobbish looking down on people who enjoy taking lots of pictures of themselves.

I’ve seen a bunch of memes criticizing people who take selfies (presumably) instead of enjoying their surroundings. There was a video gleefully praising a man who was going around slicing people’s selfie sticks as they were using them.

As a Hindu, yes I definitely value being present and connecting with the world around us. However, destroying someone’s property is not okay. And telling other people how they should properly enjoy and engage with the world is not okay.

If you like experiences over material things, awesome. But there’s no need to shame those who make a different choice. Let people experience life and the world however they want to!

I don’t think selfies are necessarily a sign of someone being selfish and only caring about themselves. I think we are all fascinated with our bodies and the diversity of expression of the human form. Finding beauty in one’s own body doesn’t mean that you are criticizing someone else’s body or that you only love yourself.

I did buy a selfie stick. You know why? Because it’s the best way to get pictures of me and my baby together. A lot of mothers end up left out of the family photo albums because they are the ones taking the pictures. I use a selfie stick to include myself in the story of our family.