adminBongani Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent
Are you one who loves having pictures taken but hates that hustle of having to ask a perfect stranger to take that special picture?
Worry not, this is now a thing of the past as you can now join the bandwagon of selfies which has taken the country by storm. Selfies seem to be the in-thing for many people who love taking pictures of themselves as you don’t need anyone, but you to take a picture of yourself.
According to an online dictionary, a selfie is a picture taken of oneself while holding the camera at arm’s length. It is also known as being camera raped, whereby one person takes many pictures of themselves.
These pictures are usually posted on social networks, mainly Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WeChat, WhatsApp and many other sites to show the lighter side of many people’s lives.
Celebrities have popularised selfies by sharing the lighter and intimate side of their lives. It seems even politicians do not want to be left behind as United States President Barack Obama has also been caught by the selfie craze as he recently posted a picture on twitter with his vice Joe Bidden in the presidential car as they travelled to an event. He did the same during the burial of former South African president Nelson Mandela with Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, and later with British Prime Minister David Cameron, as they gathered to pay tribute to Mandela.
Those fortunate enough to attend glamorous red carpet events in Zimbabwe cannot resist the urge to take selfies to show the whole world that they were there.
This is mainly so because there are not many glamorous events held so people, especially women really get excited and want to share their excitement with others. Also at events, selfies are taken in bathrooms where the lighting and reflection on the washroom sink is usually perfect and tempting for one to take a selfie.
A snap survey revealed that women were the main people who liked them. Men on the other hand seemed reluctant to take selfies preferring rather that their wives, girlfriends, and small houses send them intimate pictures of themselves.
Female celebrities who are sex symbols such as Beyonce, Rihanna, Niki Minaj, and Lady Gaga have the knack for posting semi-nude selfies on social media sites such as Twitter.
Mbo Mahocs, Lorraine Maphala, Vanessa Sibanda, Makhosi Musambasi, Vimbai Mutinhiri and Pokello Nare are some of the Zimbabwean celebrities who love taking selfies regularly.
Surprisingly this new craze has been with us for over 175 years. According to Wikipedia an American photographer by the name Robert Cornelius, produced a daguerreotype or the first selfie of himself in 1839. The process was slow as he was able to uncover the lens, run into shot for a minute or more, and then replace the lens cap. He wrote on the back “The first light picture ever taken”.
As for the term selfie it was coined by Australians in September 2002 where it, according to Wikipedia, first appeared in an Australian internet forum (ABC Online).
“Um, drunk at a mates 21st, I tripped ofer [sic] and landed lip first (with front teeth coming a very close second) on a set of steps. I had a hole about 1cm long right through my bottom lip. And sorry about the focus, it was a selfie”.
Initially popular with young people, selfies gained wider popularity over time as towards the end of 2012, Time Magazine considered the word selfie as one of the top 10 buzzwords of that year.
Online Reporter