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Jeremy Hobson's Advice For Selfie-Stick Users

There’s a new term that is unfortunately now a part of our lexicon: selfie-stick.

You’ve seen them. The idiotic plastic or metal arms that tourists all over the world are using to take medium-distance selfies with their phones.

I was in Europe last week and I saw it for myself: In front of the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum in London, underneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris, even on a train a couple decided to take a photograph of themselves from above.

selfie-stick (n.): “an elongated rod, usually made our of plastic or steel, with a camera on one end and a dense moron on the other.”– Urban Dictionary

Perhaps, they were trying to avoid the double chin they would have had after scarfing down those Pringles – very loudly, I might add.

Some have already taken the appropriate step of banning selfie-sticks. The Coachella and Lollapalooza Music Festivals are two examples.

But I have a suggestion for those interested in buying one of these things. It will save you the money.

When you want to take a selfie, go over to a nearby human and ask if they will take the photo for you. People have done this for generations, even as the technology has changed.

It appears I have at least one person on my side on this issue. On Urban Dictionary, the definition of a “selfie-stick” is “an elongated rod, usually made our of plastic or steel, with a camera on one end and a dense moron on the other.”

Please share your selfie-stick thoughts in our comments section, or send me a tweet @JeremyHobson. Just don’t send me a selfie you took with a selfie-stick. Please, I’m begging you.

Around The World With Selfie-Sticks

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

South Koreans take a selfie near a giant yellow rubber duck in Seokchon Lake on October 15, 2014 in Seoul, South Korea. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
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South Koreans take a selfie near a giant yellow rubber duck in Seokchon Lake on October 15, 2014 in Seoul, South Korea. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
Tourists take a photo with a selfie stick at the Old Harbour of Barcelona on December 25, 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. (David Ramos/Getty Images)
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Tourists take a photo with a selfie stick at the Old Harbour of Barcelona on December 25, 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. (David Ramos/Getty Images)
Mr. Monopoly uses a selfie stick to take a photo in Times Square on March 19, 2015. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)
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Mr. Monopoly uses a selfie stick to take a photo in Times Square on March 19, 2015. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)
Actress Melissa McCarthy introduces special "Spy" screening at Regal Atlantic Station on March 30, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images for 20th Century Fox)
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Actress Melissa McCarthy introduces special "Spy" screening at Regal Atlantic Station on March 30, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images for 20th Century Fox)
Football fans take a photo with a selfie stick ahead of the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on April 19, 2015 in Manchester, England.  (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
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Football fans take a photo with a selfie stick ahead of the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on April 19, 2015 in Manchester, England. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
A couple check a selfie stick as they prepare to take a photo at Tiananmen square in Beijing on April 30, 2015. (Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images)
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A couple check a selfie stick as they prepare to take a photo at Tiananmen square in Beijing on April 30, 2015. (Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images)
Festival goers user a selfie stick to take a snapshot of themselves at the Rock in Rio USA music festival at the MGM Resorts Festival Grounds in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 15, 2015.  (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)
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Festival goers user a selfie stick to take a snapshot of themselves at the Rock in Rio USA music festival at the MGM Resorts Festival Grounds in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 15, 2015. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)
US Secretary of State John Kerry uses a "selfie stick" during a stop at the restaurant in Seoul, on May 18, 2015. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
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US Secretary of State John Kerry uses a "selfie stick" during a stop at the restaurant in Seoul, on May 18, 2015. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

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