Oh no! Not the Selfie-Sticks...

[Laketravis]

The selfie and the selfie stick are breeding an entire generation of super narcissists. I fear for my daughter's generation. No joke. "Look at me! Look at me! Let me post this picture of myself on Facebook for the 5000th time." Remember when we did things other than take pictures of ourselves all day and post them online?

Boy, ain't that the truth. I've been involved in some corporate studies that explored the long term physical effects (constant thumb articulation from texting and neck/spine stress from looking down) as well as reduced verbal interaction skills (inability to maintain spontaneous dialogue and eye-to-eye contact). The UT campus here in Austin is a virtual test bed; one only needs to watch thousands of students for a couple of hours on any given day to understand exactly how profound these effects are.

 

[IsThatYouTigger]

The hate comes when the people who are using them interfere with people who are not using it. The first time someone blocks your view or smacks you with one you will understand.

This! I was there the day after Christmas. I got my spot on Main Street right behind the tape for Wishes 40 minutes before the fireworks started. The Cast Members were doing a really good job of TRYING to keep people moving along but no one was really listening to them. Anyways as soon as the first firework went off a mother and daughter stepped in front of me (in front of the tape) and put their sticks/phones up into the air. I watched the fireworks from their phone...it was incredibly annoying and frustrating since I had been there for so long and they walked right up and had no courtesy for anyone behind them.

 

[cheryl.UK]

Ok confession time. Last year in WDW, I was walking along at night, through crowds, from the Hub to Tomorrowland when I walked straight into someones selfie stick, whacking myself in the face and knocking their iPhone onto the floor where the screen smashed. The girl's male friend started screaming at me, demanding my name and address. He got right up in my face. My husband came over and apologised but firmly and decisively said we would not give him our details and that holding a phone so far away from you in those conditions was a hazard and an accident waiting to happen. He ushered me away.

I felt bad for the girl but really??? Was it a sensible thing to do?

At the time I hadn't even seen one in the UK so was certainly not aware of the new 'danger' to look out for.

 

[Magpie]

The selfie and the selfie stick are breeding an entire generation of super narcissists. I fear for my daughter's generation. No joke. "Look at me! Look at me! Let me post this picture of myself on Facebook for the 5000th time." Remember when we did things other than take pictures of ourselves all day and post them online?

That being said I understand the function of the selfie stick and think it's neat. It's really the constant need to take pictures of oneself that makes me shake my head.

How old are you? Do you remember the 80's, ie the "Me Decade"?

Unless you do, don't talk to me about narcissism!

And be careful about starting in on the "kids these days" wheeze.

Kids these days are less likely to get pregnant.

Less likely to use drugs.

Kids these days are also smarter (as in, they do way better on IQ tests than we ever did), work harder (more of them have part time jobs), and are more likely to be aware of politics and current events, and are more likely to get involved in either volunteer opportunities or protest actions.

And if you're truly worried about your daughter growing up to be a narcissist, don't sit around blaming it on a couple pieces of gadgetry. Take her volunteering. Get involved in your community.

Maybe when you're out cleaning up the local park, you'll want to get a picture for scrapbook, commemorating the time you're spending with your daughter. I understand there's a stick of some sort, that you can attach your camera to, which will allow you to get both of you in the picture.

 

[fsupharm77]

Don't really get the whole Selfie stick thing. We have been able to selfie our family of 4 without a stick and it has become a thing with us no matter where we go. We have been doing "selfies" for at least 10 years, they weren't even a thing yet. My wife and I both have long arms and can crop the arm out of any shot we take, no need to carry around a stick!

 

[SillySallySews]

Selfie sticks were not a "thing" last time we were at Disney, so I guess it will be interesting to see people using them next time we go. I have seen plenty of pictures taken with selfie sticks on Facebook and Instagram and I'm just not getting the hype. Most of the pictures I've seen look horribly distorted and you can almost always see the stick itself. But I guess if you want to have a big ugly distracting black pole in all your vacation photos, that is your choice.

 

[Newsies]

How old are you? Do you remember the 80's, ie the "Me Decade"?

Unless you do, don't talk to me about narcissism!

And be careful about starting in on the "kids these days" wheeze.

Kids these days are less likely to get pregnant.

Less likely to use drugs.

Kids these days are also smarter (as in, they do way better on IQ tests than we ever did), work harder (more of them have part time jobs), and are more likely to be aware of politics and current events, and are more likely to get involved in either volunteer opportunities or protest actions.

And if you're truly worried about your daughter growing up to be a narcissist, don't sit around blaming it on a couple pieces of gadgetry. Take her volunteering. Get involved in your community.

Maybe when you're out cleaning up the local park, you'll want to get a picture for scrapbook, commemorating the time you're spending with your daughter. I understand there's a stick of some sort, that you can attach your camera to, which will allow you to get both of you in the picture.

YES!!!! DRAG HER!!!!

 

[wdw4rfam]

The selfie stick doesn't bother me near as much as the ipad being held up in front of my face. A lady held one up over her head right in front of me in the voyage of the little mermaid, everyone kept saying put it down but she didn't speak English.

 

[wdw4rfam]

Ok confession time. Last year in WDW, I was walking along at night, through crowds, from the Hub to Tomorrowland when I walked straight into someones selfie stick, whacking myself in the face and knocking their iPhone onto the floor where the screen smashed. The girl's male friend started screaming at me, demanding my name and address. He got right up in my face. My husband came over and apologised but firmly and decisively said we would not give him our details and that holding a phone so far away from you in those conditions was a hazard and an accident waiting to happen. He ushered me away.

I felt bad for the girl but really??? Was it a sensible thing to do?

At the time I hadn't even seen one in the UK so was certainly not aware of the new 'danger' to look out for.

that's awesome

 

[mom2rtk]

Ok confession time. Last year in WDW, I was walking along at night, through crowds, from the Hub to Tomorrowland when I walked straight into someones selfie stick, whacking myself in the face and knocking their iPhone onto the floor where the screen smashed. The girl's male friend started screaming at me, demanding my name and address. He got right up in my face. My husband came over and apologised but firmly and decisively said we would not give him our details and that holding a phone so far away from you in those conditions was a hazard and an accident waiting to happen. He ushered me away.

I felt bad for the girl but really??? Was it a sensible thing to do?

At the time I hadn't even seen one in the UK so was certainly not aware of the new 'danger' to look out for.

This is the one thing that could self-regulate the presence of selfie sticks in the parks.

I'm glad your husband handled it the way he did.

 

[WEDWDW]

The selfie stick doesn't bother me near as much as the ipad being held up in front of my face.

Let's just hope they don't come up with a Selfie Stick for ipads!!!!lol

 

[WEDWDW]

Ok confession time. Last year in WDW, I was walking along at night, through crowds, from the Hub to Tomorrowland when I walked straight into someones selfie stick, whacking myself in the face and knocking their iPhone onto the floor where the screen smashed. The girl's male friend started screaming at me, demanding my name and address. He got right up in my face. My husband came over and apologised but firmly and decisively said we would not give him our details and that holding a phone so far away from you in those conditions was a hazard and an accident waiting to happen. He ushered me away.

I felt bad for the girl but really??? Was it a sensible thing to do?

At the time I hadn't even seen one in the UK so was certainly not aware of the new 'danger' to look out for.

I hope that last "Selfie Stick Selfie" they took was AWESOME!lol

 

[siskaren]

How old are you? Do you remember the 80's, ie the "Me Decade"?

The '70s were the Me Decade, not the '80s :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_%22Me%22_Decade_and_the_Third_Great_Awakening

 

[Planogirl]

The '70s were the Me Decade, not the '80s :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_%22Me%22_Decade_and_the_Third_Great_Awakening

Exactly and it meant that people started to think of themselves more as individuals rather than members of groups.

 

[Bluegrrl]

Whatever: point is, those things are annoying and can be a hazard when not used properly (which is most of the people I saw). Imagine having your little one whacked by one of those things (think of the children, I know, cliche). Think of getting whacked yourself! They are very similar to a bobby stick (or a bludger stick for the HP fans). Imagine that. Some of them are as long as a golf club. Why bring a golf club sized object into the park?

They are just nonsensical and horrible. Disney should not allow them on rides, especially rides like KS in AK.

 

[CAS239]

I've seen quite a few of them at the parks, but have not been burdened by them. Majority of the ones I see are used how they should be, with GoPros. Every now and then you'll see some moron with their phone on the end of a clamp. I don't mind the GoPros and find it pretty cool to see people using GoPros in the park, but using your phone like it's a GoPro looks cheap and dumb.

The ones using their phone seem to be the young teens. The ones using the GoPros seem like they know what their doing and only use it in wide open areas.

I haven't seen any type of stick used on any rides.

 

[mom2rtk]

I've seen quite a few of them at the parks, but have not been burdened by them. Majority of the ones I see are used how they should be, with GoPros. Every now and then you'll see some moron with their phone on the end of a clamp. I don't mind the GoPros and find it pretty cool to see people using GoPros in the park, but using your phone like it's a GoPro looks cheap and dumb.

The ones using their phone seem to be the young teens. The ones using the GoPros seem like they know what their doing and only use it in wide open areas.

I haven't seen any type of stick used on any rides.

I'm curious what you think makes them so much better with a gopro?

 

[Aurora0427]

How old are you? Do you remember the 80's, ie the "Me Decade"?

Unless you do, don't talk to me about narcissism!

And be careful about starting in on the "kids these days" wheeze.

Kids these days are less likely to get pregnant.

Less likely to use drugs.

Kids these days are also smarter (as in, they do way better on IQ tests than we ever did), work harder (more of them have part time jobs), and are more likely to be aware of politics and current events, and are more likely to get involved in either volunteer opportunities or protest actions.

And if you're truly worried about your daughter growing up to be a narcissist, don't sit around blaming it on a couple pieces of gadgetry. Take her volunteering. Get involved in your community.

Maybe when you're out cleaning up the local park, you'll want to get a picture for scrapbook, commemorating the time you're spending with your daughter. I understand there's a stick of some sort, that you can attach your camera to, which will allow you to get both of you in the picture.

Oh puh lease. My daughter is 4. I'm not worried about HER becoming a narcissist. I think you read way more into my post than you should- nowhere did I say I was worried about my daughter becoming a narcissist and nowhere did I say I blamed gadgetry.

Taking constant photos of yourself making duck faces and what not and plastering them all over the Internet all day long is stupid and narcissistic. Oh look, I have new sungalsses, oh look, I'm posing in a bikini,oh look at me look at me blah blah blah. Seriously. People are so in love with themselves. It's not healthy. And I have 35 year old friends who do it, so it's not just young people. I was mostly being tongue and cheek when I said I fear for my daughter's generation. But I do think the selfies have gotten a bit ridiculous.

 

[larryz]

I'm not cheap and don't appreciate the comment, as I said I did photopass last visit, why do some disers have to make it so personal
cal

Well, I'll change the "cheap" in my comment, but I can't change your quote.

Why do some DISer's take everything so personally?

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

The selfie stick doesn't bother me near as much as the ipad being held up in front of my face. A lady held one up over her head right in front of me in the voyage of the little mermaid, everyone kept saying put it down but she didn't speak English.

I never understood taking iPads to the parks. My phone takes much better pics than my iPad. And even carrying a phone can be a bother when you go on water rides or it starts pouring rain. I'd be constantly worried about my iPad getting wet, dropping it, having it stolen,... Plus, every item you take into the parks is just one more thing to carry, store during thrill rides, etc.