Helen Gallagher's List: Tuesday Newsday

• the most embarrassing phenomenon of the digital age: the selfie.
• selfie" first popped up in an Australian chat room
• September 13, 2002
• "A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website."
• "Selfie" beat out seven competitors, including "twerk," "schmeat" (synthetically produced meat) and "bitcoin" for the Word of the Year crown.
• There are 57 million photos bearing its hashtag -- #selfie -- on Instagram alone
• It has given birth to "helfie" -- a photo of one's own hair; "belfie" -- a snapshot of one's own backside; and "welfie" -- a selfie taken while working out, aka the most annoying kind.

5 more annotations...

• #SelfieSocialCleanse

• psychologists say taking selfies can turn into an addiction for people already affected by certain psychological disorders

  • It's probably like an obsession for people who tend toward compulsive behavior.

• Slender Man – a mythical, online monster linked to a horror site

  • This is surprising for girls in my opinion. Maybe I need to do more research to see if my opnion is valid.