The invention of the "selfie"

My fourth son is FULL OF IT!  I'm telling you.  Oh BOY did this boy give me a run for my money as a toddler.  AND...he still does sometimes.  Haha! He is very inquisitive.  Curious. Mischievous. Active. Funny. A trickster. He can also be sweet, good, kind and thoughtful.  Thankfully.

This morning we were looking at a framed picture of two people standing by a waterfall.  He asked, "Did they use a REALLY BIG selfie stick?" I couldn't help but laugh and say, "No, those weren't invented back then."  He replied, "Really?" with an inquisitive look on his silly face.  I explained that the selfie stick is something that is pretty new.  He asked, "Well, who took the picture?" I didn't have that answer for him.

Then he asked me who created the first selfie.  I told him that I didn't know, but I would find out.  I Googled it, of course.  I clicked on a link titled, Who Invented the Selfie.  It talked about how the word selfie is a slang term for a self portrait.  All of the sudden my mind was bombarded with memories of people holding up a "point and shoot" camera way out in front of them...attempting to capture a picture of themselves or more people...which was really difficult because you could not SEE the image you were capturing until you got your film developed.  Oh the days of the film camera!  I spent so much money on film!!

In the article it names Robert Cornelius as the first person to take a self portrait in 1839. My son thought that was pretty cool and he decided he needed to write down that information so he could share it at school.What a nut!

The article also states that the word "selfie" was chosen as the "Word of the Year 2013" by the Oxford English Dictionary.  I wonder if ANYONE could have guessed that there would be so much selfie taking when they invented the digital cameras and cell phones.  Probably not.

And, of course, my son thinks I grew up in the stone ages because we didn't have computers and cell phones...way...back...then.  GASP!  How did we ever survive!?!?

I find it a little bit disturbing that teenagers spend so much of their time taking selfies.  What's the purpose? It seems to place attention on oneself instead of focusing outward on others.  The "Selfies" I enjoy most are the ones including multiple people.  So, technically is wouldn't be a selfie.  Since it's more than once person.

These selfies are... capturing a moment with someone else.

A sweet moment with my sweet girl!

Showing my son how to take a selfie.

My son's turn to try.  Not bad for his first time.  ;)

And last, but not least...a group shot with Sister Cox who came to share a spiritual message with us tonight.  These are the kinds of moments where a "selfie" is a fantastic idea.