In 1839, chemist and amateur photographer, Robert Cornelius, took the world’s first known selfie. Our journey to today’s selfie culture starts before the American Civil War. It goes both ways.Īt their core, selfies are about representing yourself in a positive light and feeling good.īut how exactly did selfie culture start? When was the first selfie, anyway?īelieve it or not, selfies actually have a long history. Or, you can use it to show off your wicked abs in the infamous gym mirror selfie. More notably, an incredibly effective and obvious way of letting the world know you need to 'tune' your 'face' in a hopeless effort to appear more attractive to the fake followers you purchased on Instagram. Here I am!” For many people, sharing selfies is a form of protest, empowerment, and self-expression.Īn app commonly used for editing substandard selfies. But there’s something inherently powerful and human about saying, “Hi. On the surface, selfie culture seems as self-obsessed as Joe Exotic.
Selfies: love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’re a mainstay on our screens.