How The Selfie Set Us Free
Ten years after its inception, it's clear that the selfie has changed the way we see and present ourselves. Is it for the best?
Published
User Feedback is a monthly column that examines how technology is shaping our lives and our world.
10 years ago, in the summer of 2013, Oxford Dictionary named "selfie" the word of the year. The word's crowning was the culmination of a year of viral selfie photos and heated internet discourse. That year alone, use of the word "selfie" increased by 17,000%.
The selfie's ascendance into mainstream culture exactly one decade ago represents a pivotal shift in how we use technology. It marked the beginning of a new era, when we began to see our lives and our identities through the lens of a smartphone. It was the moment that nascent influencer culture broke into the mainstream.
Prior to the selfie's rise, phones were about capturing the world around us. We were anonymous and passive viewers. The selfie gave us permission to put ourselves online through the photos we captured.