Technology
Technology has an irreplaceable role in our lives, serving to entertain, connect and educate. It is for this reason that it has had such a heavy influence on the selfie phenomenon, helping spread and popularise the act and term.
The invention of the camera gave us the ability to capture our memories, and when combined with a phone it allowed for seamless sharing and uploading of pictures and selfies. The first phone with an inbuilt camera (SCH-V200) was made by Samsung in June 2000, however this is not considered to be the first camera phone, as the two technologies acted as separate entities. The first 'real' camera phone (J-SH04) was produced by Sharp, with the camera located on the back of the phone. The first phone with a front facing camera (Sony Ericsson Z1010) was created in 2003, and since its creation majority of phones have this feature. One particularly notable phone is the HTC Desire Eye, released in 2014 which features a 13-megapixel front-facing camera - perfect for taking high resolution selfies.
Another major breakthrough in selfie taking was the creation of the selfie stick. The selfie trend eradicated the need to get people to take photos for you, but this further eradicating the need to physically hold out a phone. The stick uses the earphone jack or bluetooth functions of the phone to take photos when the taker presses a button. There have been variations of the stick with the creation of the 'belfie stick' - purpose made for taking belfies, and the 'selfie drone' which can take aerial selfies. A further spin has been taken on stick with the innovation of the selfie sombrero, a joint project between Acer and designer Christian Cowan-Sanluis. The pink piece of wearable technology works as a case for the Acer Iconia A-1 840 tablet and was created in 2014 as a spin off Cowan-Sanluis's previous works.
Possibly the most significant technological factors that affected the selfie craze is social media and the creation of smartphones. A smartphone is 'a mobile phone that performs many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touchscreen interface, Internet access, and an operating system capable of running downloaded apps.' The ability to access the internet, and subsequently social media has allowed for us to share our selfies whenever, wherever and to whoever we want to. As the camera and the internet access is combined into one device, it permits easy uploading to these sites. The first smartphone (IBM Simon) was distributed between August 1994 and February 1995, and this touch screen device sold over 50,000 units. Today smartphones are expected to have the features included in the definition above, some notable examples being the Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Google Nexus.
It is undeniable that technology played an important role in forming the modern day selfie, and that without it the selfie trend would not have developed to the extent it has today.
The invention of the camera gave us the ability to capture our memories, and when combined with a phone it allowed for seamless sharing and uploading of pictures and selfies. The first phone with an inbuilt camera (SCH-V200) was made by Samsung in June 2000, however this is not considered to be the first camera phone, as the two technologies acted as separate entities. The first 'real' camera phone (J-SH04) was produced by Sharp, with the camera located on the back of the phone. The first phone with a front facing camera (Sony Ericsson Z1010) was created in 2003, and since its creation majority of phones have this feature. One particularly notable phone is the HTC Desire Eye, released in 2014 which features a 13-megapixel front-facing camera - perfect for taking high resolution selfies.
Another major breakthrough in selfie taking was the creation of the selfie stick. The selfie trend eradicated the need to get people to take photos for you, but this further eradicating the need to physically hold out a phone. The stick uses the earphone jack or bluetooth functions of the phone to take photos when the taker presses a button. There have been variations of the stick with the creation of the 'belfie stick' - purpose made for taking belfies, and the 'selfie drone' which can take aerial selfies. A further spin has been taken on stick with the innovation of the selfie sombrero, a joint project between Acer and designer Christian Cowan-Sanluis. The pink piece of wearable technology works as a case for the Acer Iconia A-1 840 tablet and was created in 2014 as a spin off Cowan-Sanluis's previous works.
Possibly the most significant technological factors that affected the selfie craze is social media and the creation of smartphones. A smartphone is 'a mobile phone that performs many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touchscreen interface, Internet access, and an operating system capable of running downloaded apps.' The ability to access the internet, and subsequently social media has allowed for us to share our selfies whenever, wherever and to whoever we want to. As the camera and the internet access is combined into one device, it permits easy uploading to these sites. The first smartphone (IBM Simon) was distributed between August 1994 and February 1995, and this touch screen device sold over 50,000 units. Today smartphones are expected to have the features included in the definition above, some notable examples being the Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Google Nexus.
It is undeniable that technology played an important role in forming the modern day selfie, and that without it the selfie trend would not have developed to the extent it has today.