Not so long ago, taking a photo of yourself felt a little strange. You had to hold a heavy camera at arm’s length, squint into the screen, and hope the picture wasn’t blurry. If you told someone, “I just took a photo of myself,” they might have looked at you funny.
Then came 2013, the year the word selfie took over. The Oxford Dictionary named it Word of the Year, and suddenly, everyone was doing it. The duckface was born, bathroom mirrors became photo studios, and we all realized how much people enjoy seeing themselves.
The early days: blurry, bold, and a bit embarrassing
The first selfies were pure chaos. There were MySpace angles, glowing flashes, and poses that made no sense. Filters didn’t exist yet, and editing meant simple cropping, if anything.
Still, selfies were something new. For the first time, you didn’t need a photographer to be seen. You were the photographer, the model, and the creative mind behind the photo. It was personal, fun, and just a little silly.
Smartphones changed everything
When front-facing cameras arrived, selfies became easy. Taking one felt natural instead of awkward. By the time Instagram and Snapchat joined in, selfies had turned into a new kind of communication.
Your morning coffee? Selfie.
New haircut? Selfie.
Dog doing something funny? Of course, a selfie with the dog.
We learned new expressions like “smile but casual” or “I woke up like this” (after ten tries, of course).
The golden age of selfies
Then filters appeared and gave everyone perfect light and smooth skin. Celebrities joined in, and selfies became part of pop culture. Remember Ellen’s famous Oscars selfie in 2014? It broke Twitter and made selfie history.
Selfies stopped being a joke. They became a way to tell stories. Each one said, “This is my life. My face. My world.”
What’s next for selfies
Today, selfies are doing something unexpected. They’re helping teach AI how to see and understand real people. The same photos we take every day are now helping technology learn what makes us human.
So next time you open your camera, think about this: you’re not just taking a photo. You’re taking part in selfie history.
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