FOCUS ON OUR AMAZING PHOTO FACTS We’re so selfie-obsessed
Pioneering photographer Robert Cornelius took the first known self-portrait snap in 1839. The first true selfies arrived in the Noughties with the arrival of phones with front-facing cameras. The first selfie stick was actually invented in the 1980s. Australian Nathan Hope is credited with being the first man to use the word selfie when posting a picture of himself in 2002. In 2013, the word entered the Oxford English Dictionary.
Nearly a third of photos taken by 18 to 24-year-olds are selfies, while 38% of people in this age group admit to sharing a naked one.
Ten selfies are posted to Instagram every 10 seconds and we typically spend 20 minutes perfecting our poses.
Men post an average of three selfies a week – that’s compared with just 1.6 for women according to a survey by
HTC. Women tend to take them from above, while men take them front-on or from below. People who post lots of selfies on Instagram are considered less likeable, say scientists. Selfie addicts also over-estimate their looks.
A study by La Trobe University found that people prefer to take selfies of the left side of their face as it is more “emotionally expressive”.
The Eiffel Tower in Paris is the world’s most popular destination for a selfie. There is even a selfie museum in Vienna, Austria.
A University of California study found selfies boost happiness, but researchers in India found 259 fans died taking them in six years – that’s five times more deadly than sharks.
Selfitis, the compulsive need to take selfies, is a real health condition according to researchers at Nottingham Trent University. “Selfie wrist” is also a growing problem.
DID you know that each of us takes an average of 450 selfies a year, or that 93million such images are posted online every day? It’s National Selfie Day and to mark the event has put together a snapshot of our picture addiction…
Research has shown that selfies tend to make your conk look 30% larger, with cosmetic surgeons saying they fuel demand for nose jobs.
Astronauts such as Britain’s Tim Peake have taken selfies in space. They have been taken at the top of Everest, too.
A selfie taken at the Oscars in 2014 featuring celebs such as Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence was retweeted more three million times.
It was rivalled by one from Kylie Jenner in 2017 that featured Kim Kardashian and earned 1.35million “likes”.
In 2011, Naruto the monkey shot to fame after taking a selfie using a camera left behind by a photographer. Last year, two gorillas posed with a park ranger in the Congo.