We celebrate No Selfies Day every year on March 16. While the act of taking a selfie may predate social media, smartphones, and the word itself, selfies have always been popular. Over the years, selfies have become easier to take, and today, you can click a selfie on almost every device. Selfie sticks and multi-functional camera phones make it all too convenient to take selfies and group selfies or ‘groupies.’ However, on No Selfies Day, we are not allowed to take any selfies or groupies. We know… torture. But we’re all in this together!
The history, origin, and founder of No Selfies Day are unknown. There is no mention of its first observance, but we celebrate it on the birthday of Philippe Kahn, who invented the cell phone camera. Coincidence? We think not! The day targets those obsessed with taking selfies (us all) and the harmful effects. It’s a gentle reminder not to take a picture of yourself today.
Selfie addiction has been linked with psychologically damaging behavior. Research has revealed that a woman, on average, spends about 104 minutes each week trying to capture perfect selfies! Selfies have become a cultural phenomenon because they reveal the basic human desire to feel noticed, appreciated, and recognized. Due to fast-paced social media development, people take selfies and upload them for likes and comments to keep up with the trends. Selfies are even enhanced with lights, filters, effects, and more. As a result, people tend to become confused between someone’s online presence and their real life, leading to a rise in body dysmorphia cases.
Studies also show that we can be negatively affected when someone comments something hurtful, dislikes our image, or even when the image doesn’t get as many likes or comments as one would expect. No Selfies Day gives both the chance and acts as a reminder to forget selfies for at least a day and photograph others instead. Or perhaps just take mind pictures to store for years to come.
