Selfie day (21/06)

Selfie Day, celebrated on June 21, is a – holiday dedicated to one of the most popular hobbies of our day.

It is believed that the holiday was first organized and held in the USA in 2014. Its creator is usually called Texas DJ McNeely. True, in 2014 it was about holding National Selfie Day in the USA. However, the popularity of the selfie craze, called one of the trends of the 21st century, turned out to be so great that McNeely’s initiative was picked up by Internet users around the world, and the holiday acquired unofficial international or global status.

«Selfie» – photography, which is a type of self-portrait taken using a camera, mobile device or some other gadget. The spread of this hobby was facilitated by the appearance of high-quality front cameras on mobile devices, as well as the ability to publish the pictures taken through mobile applications and on social networks.

In principle, the opportunity to take a self-portrait appeared almost immediately after the appearance of the camera and the necessary accessories for it. However, this required time, preparation and certain skills. In addition, the bulkiness of the first cameras did not contribute to the quantitative indicators of the images. However, it is known that self-portraits taken using cameras and mirrors began to gain popularity from the beginning of the 20th century.

With the advent of compact cameras and their mass modifications, which made photos available to a wide range of fans, self-portrait became more common, but it was the advent of smartphones and other mobile devices with a built-in high-resolution front camera that made selfies incredibly popular.

The term «selfie» itself was first discovered by the compilers of the Oxford English Dictionary in 2002 as a slang term on an Australian Internet forum. And already in 2013, this word was included in the online version of the Oxford Dictionary, receiving the title «Word of the Year». In 2018, the Selfie Museum opened in Los Angeles.

A characteristic feature of selfies is that the photo is taken at arm's length, although later special tripods began to be produced for a more convenient image. This explains a certain angle from which the photo is taken. Thanks to the choice of angle, a person gets the opportunity to experiment with an image, as well as achieve certain effects.

The popularity of selfies is also characterized by an expansion of the age range, that is, the youth hobby initially began to gain popularity among representatives of the middle age group. Not only ordinary people, but also celebrities actively take selfies: film actors, pop and opera stars, musicians, political and government figures.

The passion for selfies, unfortunately, also became the reason for the psychological dependence of individual gadget users. The desire to earn likes on social networks, searching for interesting angles and simply chasing adrenaline sometimes leads to the fact that the desire to take an unusual selfie pushes people to commit reckless actions that jeopardize their own lives and health. Thus, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs even issued a special memo warning about the need to avoid photos with weapons in your hands, in dangerous places: on the roofs of buildings, power line supports, towers, railway tracks, driving a car, etc.

Despite everything, the holiday remains a holiday, and millions of fans of selfies on June 21 will be able to take part in events dedicated to the holiday, preparing for this a new bright and unusual photo that will be posted on their pages on social networks!



Infographics – poster «June 21 — Selfie Day»

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