Snapchat is Redefining the Selfiie

I want to play a game. Don't worry though, this game won't result in the elaborate deaths of many B-list actors and create a movie franchise that goes seven movies too long. This game is actually quite simple to play. All you need to do is open facebook (which you probably have open in another tab anyways) and go to a friend's profile. When you get to their profile, go to their photos and begin to scroll backwards. The goal of the game is simple. Find a picture of your friend taking a "selfie" and like the photo. Once the photo is liked, it will pop up on everyone's newsfeed and instant shame will rain down upon the victim. 

There are two types of people in the world. Those who admit to have taken a selfie before and those who wear fire retardant pants. Selfies are done by both guys and girls. A girl selfie usually comes in form of the "Duck face peace sign combo" shown below...

You go girl. 

Guy selfies usually take the form of  the "I'm too sexy for my shirt mirror pic" shown below...

Damn bro, do you workout? 

No matter the form, all selfies are created equal...or so we thought. That was the belief until Snapchat came along. Snapchat has completely redefined the selfie. But, before we get into that, it is important that we look at the history of "the selfie" and see how it has evolved over time. So.. 

"Come with me

And you'll be

In a world of self infatuation"

"Take a look

And you'll see 

Into the history of the selfie." 

 

The Self Portrait

Believe it or not the selfie was created in the 1500's during the Early Renaissance era. Artists would paint themselves and call their masterpieces "Self-portraits" (selfies). These artists would often create inaccurate portrayals of themselves to enhance their appearance, because seriously, who would make a fugly picture of thy self? 

The Polaroid Camera

The selfie went through a dry few hundred years until the invention of the polaroid camera. The polaroid camera greatly sped up the creation of the selfie. The "instant selfie," as I like to call it, was an instant success among selfers (people who take selfies). 

Digital Cameras 

Digital cameras allowed selfers to store hundreds of selfies in one device. Selfers could also upload selfies from their cameras to the internet. Digital cameras sparked the early beginnings of the "mirror pic" and "duck face" movements. 

Camera Phones

The creation of the camera phone enabled selfers to take selfies and store them on their phone. No more carrying cameras. Selfers had their own phone calling selfie device right in their pockets. 

Smart Phones

Smartphones innovated the selfie by having the turn around camera function. Selfers could use this function to look at themselves while taking a selfie. As if we couldn't get enough of ourselves already! Smartphones also allowed selfers to use selfie apps like Snapchat!

Now that we have taken a crash course in selfie history, we can take a look at how Snapchat has completely redefined the selfie...

 

With Snapchat you can only send pictures to your friends for up to ten seconds and then they are deleted. This is extremely important because the selfer is no longer required to look good in their selfie. The goal of a snapchat selfie is to look as ugly as possible because who cares? It just gets deleted into Snapchat abyss (AKA Snapchat headquarters).   

Snapchat allows you to draw on your selfie. Have you ever taken a selfie and thought, "Damn, I really wish I was wearing a sombrero." Well, take your finger and draw a sombrero then! Go ahead and throw a mustache on their as well. The drawing function allows selfers to be creative as ever with their selfies. 

Perhaps one of the most important functions of Snapchat is the caption function. The caption function allows you to write a short sentence to your friends along with your selfie. Now you can have full on selfie conversations with selfies that literally have no context to your caption at all. 

Snapchat is the biggest innovation to the selfie since the creation of bathroom mirrors. Next time you walk through campus, look around you. I guarantee you will see at least one person idiotically looking at their smart phone and you won't question it. You know exactly what that person is doing. They are taking a Snapchat. Snapchat is rooted into our culture now. Get used to it, because Snapchat is here to stay.