Selfie Sticks

They get in the way and enlarge the user's personal space beyond those without sticks. I do note some users are more conscious about it and conscientious about keeping it close. They can impede foot traffic and views. Contributes with others who don't recognize imposition and impact to those around them. Yes, that includes selfies and contrived Instagram photo shoots....and big photo productions that take forever to happen. IMO, family shots should be done out of way if it takes longer than 30 seconds. That's my tolerance and good will allowance.

IMO, family shots should be done out of way if it takes longer than 30 seconds. That's my tolerance and good will allowance.

My view too, but even then 30 seconds seems a bit generous. I do take the time to stop when I notice I'm about to step into someones frame but sometimes there are too many people trying to take photos that it's impossible to stop for them all, Prague springs to mind.

I don't have any particular thoughts towards selfie sticks. Are they any different to having your photo taken by someone stood 6ft away?

I'm bothered when people barely look at something like the mona lisa or an altar in a church, but march right up and turn around and get their photo and then march right out. However, I've decided this has little impact on me, maybe even a positive impact if they aren't staying long. I do hate it when people take many different poses with different combinations of people seemingly oblivious to people around them waiting to catch a photo. But, this can happen with or without a selfie stick.

I think the advent of selfies, with or without a selfie stick has brought about a need to pose with something that deserves more respect. Cemeteries, Holocaust sites, and certain pieces in a church. I watched a tour group march into St Stephen's Basilica, walk directly to the mummified right hand of St. Stephen take a group photo and walk out.

I've never been hit by a selfie stick though they've come close. I'm under 5'4" and I have a hard enough time seeing sometimes without someone obstructing me. What has happened to me a lot, is that someone sticks their camera on a selfie stick or holds their ipad above their head blocking my sight line. If its just a quick shot, my thought is, "ok, whatever.", but sometimes they just keep the device high taking multiple shots or videos.

I think selfie sticks are just another way SOME people can be rude. I do think that rude selfie stick users were probably rude before their selfie stick, too.

I can see the appeal since selfie sticks would be a way to make it easier to get a few shots with me actually in the photo. However, for me, it'd be just another thing to carry.

One of the most interesting examples was a scenario I saw a few years ago was in the National Gallery in London. The person sidestepped from painting to painting taking selfies of each one with his BACK to every painting. He never looked at any of the pictures, just step, step, pose, click, step, step, pose, click. Rinse, repeat. I happened to be standing in a doorway next to a security guard so looked at him and commented. Big sigh from the guard and a discussion on how many never stop to look and consider the paintings.

I just returned from my annual trip to Yellowstone. Here selfie sticks are a hazard on the narrow boardwalks thru the thermal area but I'm actually seeing fewer of them than a couple of years ago.

I, personally, don't have less patience with folks with big cameras. I don't want anyone blocking my way whether it's a selfie stick or long-lens'd camera.

Allan, those links are a good reminder that just as there is a lot of not-very-good psychology to be found on the WWW, like "Psychology Today", there is also a lot of pop sociology available to fill our screens as well. Let someone get hold of a useful conceptual tool, like 'moral panic', and they will find ways to use that tool and get themselves some coolness cred along the way.

Back when taking the Grand Tour was more expensive and time-consuming than it is now, those that could manage it would acquire other ways of proving they were there, whether it was a furniture or jewelry piece inlaid with unearthed antiquities or a portrait painted on site -- we're old enough to remember the brisk business in quick artists sitting on stools at strategic scenic spots in Paris and elsewhere, aren't we? So, isn't a phone attached to a selfie stick just the same thing in a faster, cheaper format? I think the answer is no. It isn't the same thing.

How is an iPhoto of me in front of an ancient statue at the Louvre different from a piece of Murano glass that can only be had on Murano or, for that matter, an iPhoto of a sumptuous glacé dripping on a cafe table overlooking the Mediterranean?

Let's concede right off that they all have in common that they are self-aggrandizing and celebratory -- look at how special!
But the difference is that the selfie is making a claim of "Look at how special I am!" while the the trinket is saying "Look at how special this place is!" and the photo of the dessert is saying "Look at how special this moment is!"

There's much more to say about this, so I'll leave it at that and allow more commenters for now,
except to also bring up the point that professional photographers get in the habit of looking over a location or an assignment without a camera up at their eye first, so they can get a sense of the place without the intermediation of a camera before they then start making calculations about how to use the limitations of the medium, the instrument, to best capture that place. I myself generally don't feel right about taking photos on my first day in a city.

Allan,

My example is not so much about selfie sticks but a reference to how guards enforce policies.

One day, while in St. Peter's Basilica, I visited the Chapel of The Blessed Sacrement. It clearly states - No photos, No cameras, No Talking. The guard standing there also enforces the rules. But of course, there are those who feel they are above any law or policy.

I witnessed a couple of people (actually more on another occasion) taking pictures of the Chapel. I have no idea what they did not understand - No is No. There were words and outlines of the gadgets with a line through it to depict No on a big white sign where the guard was standing. He also reiterated it. I went there a few times so I know this to be true.

Yes, the Chapel is quite beautiful. But, it is a Chapel for Prayer, Reflection and Quiet.

The guard makes random checks. There is a velvet curtain as "the door." He caught the people busily taking photos. He tapped them on the shoulder and escorted them out. I was a wee bit curious of how they were going to handle that. The guard took them to the "exit" door of The Basilica. (He motioned another guard to come and stand in his place.) The guards don't mess around.

I don't know if those people were allowed back in that day. If so, they would have to wait in line again.

Personally, both selfie sticks users and camera users, they both can be annoying. I actually think camera users take up more space than selfie stick users. I know it's not a general thing but quite a number of them fall into the annoying category. What I do though is just ignore it. I try to be a little more understanding that they are caught up in the beauty of the moment or the 'importance of their Instagram post' and would deliberately not want to make nuisances of themselves. I often encounter those that apologize for their indiscretion and that's why I just let it go and try to be understanding. I mean we can't all be the same and see things in one way. Pictures make up a huge part of some people's lives. But please if you fall into this category, try and be considerate

I agree with brown85jessica that regular camera users can be just as annoying, but my experience is that both camera and selfie stick users dont really care that they are monopolizing space and time. Mostly I see an expectation that others should make room and indulge them. Having been shoved out of the way a time or two, I dont appreciate their assumption that the stick gives them precedence. I dont want to try and appreciate a work of art or architecture through a sea of waving sticks, or be waiting for teens to perfect their simultaneous leaping pose. That's not just complaining about lack of awareness.

Selfie sticks strike me as more a potential problem with How than What, like most anything.

Sure, they might seem a bit vain and narcissistic. But I can't say I've taken the time out of my day to observe and watch selfie stick users enough to see whether they're making it a point to view and appreciate things themselves, before or after the picture. Maybe that quick selfie stick pic just rounds off their looking at and enjoying a site in the moment, before going on their way? I have to say I've traveled all over and taken likely thousands of pics of sights and works of art and vistas and landmarks, and so on, and can count the number of these pictures I'm in on both hands. Sometimes I regret that - when my own memories and mental images fade, will I regret not having pictures of me before this monument or that tower?

Do selfie sticks really take up more space than, say, a person having their pictures taken by another person, with both using up not only the space they're each standing in but all the space between photographer and subject (how many times have you stopped yourself in your tracks, waiting for some people in front of you to take a picture so you don't step in to frame or get between them?). Further, I'd imagine they could be particularly useful for solo travelers, so they're not having to bug someone else every time they want a pic of themselves.

So that someone uses a selfie stick doesn't really bother me. How they use it might, if they're hogging space or recklessly swinging it around and getting it in the way of others' photos by holding it up in the air. But how someone takes normal pics without a stick could very well bug me also, if they seem they're being inconsiderate about it.

Then again, more often than not nothing any of the folks above are doing bothers me because I'm too busy focusing on what I want to see and look at to care about them... which makes me wonder how often I might have bothered others by accidentally disrupting their photos because I'm too busy looking at the things I want to see. :)

What makes a person think their face on their Taj Mahal or other epic sight is going to add anything? I mean, you know you were there. And we'll take your word for it.

I realize that the above question doesn't compute in some countries, where they apparently can't imagine taking a pic of something without their face in front of it.

To each their own. I'm just not that good lookin', so can't imagine my visage adding to the sight. I know I was there.

It’s a safety issue. Aware for the past few years that that selfie sticks existed, I only had seen very few in use, except for skiers and snowboarders at ski areas in Colorado who had a GoPro camera mounted to an extended ski pole. Unsafe, somewhat, but I tried to just ski elsewhere, away from the person not exactly paying attention to their moving downhill at speed, and when sticking to places challenging enough that you actually need poles for balance and timing, it means not being near people flailing their poles around anyway.

As for sites in Europe, maybe it’s just where I’d been or at what time of year, but I hadn’t encountered many sticks being wielded at all in the past few years... Rome, Sicily, Amalfi Coast, northern Spain, France (including among Tour de France spectators at several places), Iceland, Scotland, Brittany, England, Ireland. Then, suddenly, at the Piazza Signoria in Florence in October 2016, there was suddenly a mob of people waving selfie sticks around, high and low, plus vendors selling them, adding to the chaos. It was like we were the only people not brandishing fully-extended sticks. Imagine being around a bunch of gargantuan porcupines, with spiny needles too low to duck under, too high to step over, and too many to get around without extreme care. This was late afternoon, and the fading light made it hard to see all the sticks. They maybe weren’t intended weapons, but they were still dangerous, and the 2 of us had a couple close calls with sticks being waved about as we exited the scene. No one lost an eye, and it hasn’t happened again like that, ever, so maybe it was a one time critical mass of misbehaving people and their metal appendages. Or I’ve just not been in places lately where extended sticks are still considered an essential item to wave around. If toting a tree branch ever becomes a trend, it will be just as bad as that afternoon in Florence.

Annoying, yes! Inconsiderate, yes! Disruptive, yes!
But the real issue that bothers me is the need to count coup over every single object you see. David's junk...selfie. Mona Lisa...selfie. Rialto Bridge...selfie. Good grief. Don't ever show me your pictures. I have zero interest in seeing that many mug shots of your big fat head blocking the shot.

I will admit I see fewer than 5 years ago, and often the users are apologetic and considerate about it. I hope that means I am seeing off the beaten path and things that aren't that Instagram or Facebook cult-following worthy.

I wouldn't stop to let others take photos if it wasn't that I was so photo averse, I don't want to get in that picture even by accident.

I am watching some ProWalks videos of Venice for an upcoming trip. From his shadows, I can see he uses a selfie stick but totally centred against his body and above his head so not physically impacting others. But all those people he is recording that aren't aware and having given permission to post causes me conscience discomfort. I see it as invasion of privacy. I know I don't want to be in public footage if I can avoid it. It is bad enough having to be filmed for security reasons but by some yahoo on the street really bugs me.....and don't even get me started on drones.......

My girlfriend brought a selfie stick on our last trip. She used it maybe once or twice, then left it in the rental when I dropped her at the airport - so I had to carry it home.

Some museums won't allow them.

It wouldn't make my pack list.

I'm bothered when people barely look at something like the mona lisa
or an altar in a church, but march right up and turn around and get
their photo and then march right out.

He never looked at any of the pictures, just step, step, pose, click,
step, step, pose, click.

Why are your bothered? There is a lot of more important things to worry about in life. Maybe we should ban people from standing too long in front of the La Gioconda if they haven’t got an art degree so that they can truly appreciate what they are looking at. They would understand that it isn’t “beauty” that makes the portrait special or unique. At least the selfie folks move on quickly; most of the others stare glassy eyed trying to understand what they will never understand. Waste of good space. “Judge not ..."

Let's concede right off that they all have in common that they are
self-aggrandizing and celebratory -- look at how special!

What makes a person think their face on their Taj Mahal or other epic
sight is going to add anything? I mean, you know you were there. And
we'll take your word for it.

Or maybe they aren’t narcissistic. Maybe they are like me and rarely share the photos, but use the photos to trigger memories and relive moments?

Do selfie sticks really take up more space than, say, a person having
their pictures taken by another person, with both using up not only
the space they're each standing in but all the space between
photographer and subject (how many times have you stopped yourself in
your tracks, waiting for some people in front of you to take a picture
so you don't step in to frame or get between them?). Further, I'd
imagine they could be particularly useful for solo travelers, so
they're not having to bug someone else every time they want a pic of
themselves.

You are correct. We should ban all photo taking; except when the person is deserving to do so.

Annoying, yes! Inconsiderate, yes! Disruptive, yes! But the real
issue that bothers me is the need to count coup over every single
object you see. David's junk...selfie. Mona Lisa...selfie. Rialto
Bridge...selfie. Good grief. Don't ever show me your pictures. I have
zero interest in seeing that many mug shots of your big fat head
blocking the shot.

And I am certain they wouldn’t want to show you their pictures. Sort of strange you would suspect they took them for you.

“What makes a person think their face on their Taj Mahal or other epic
sight is going to add anything? I mean, you know you were there. And
we'll take your word for it.”

Yikes. It can add personality and fun. I don't have a selfie stick, but my wife and I will take selfies together or ask someone to take our photo. Not every photo, but here and there. My wife hates it but I also take a lot of photos of her walking in front of me or of her looking at a site or scenery. Too bad I can't post a photo to better show what I'm talking about. To me it adds personality and a sense of scale to a photo.

Allan, I am going to hazard a guess it can boil down to a generational thing as to pros and cons of having people in images. I can pretty much guarantee that I never saw Mrs. Davies in any of her photos she took and shared of her summer trips back in 5th grade. My only travel photos from 1976 with me in them were specific ones that the ship's photographer took and I spent big bucks to purchase. If there were group or friend photos from travel, they were done as a memory of 'us' and as likely as not were just in some impromptu place.
I wonder if it has anything to do with the cost of photography - when one had to buy film and pay for processing vs current 'no expense after initial camera/tool outlay'. Photography wasn't cheap so each image had to count. It tended to count for the sites seen and the fact that it represented travel that was still considered a privilege and a luxury. Sure, we teens would goof around with a camera at home with friends, but travel images were 'serious' business.

It’s a generational and cultural thing tied to Instagram. Its also a thinly veiled attempt to insinuate that someone is a much more cultured traveler than the selfie-stickers. It’s not going away anytime soon, so I suggest focusing energy on things that matter.

Okay, everyone sit down. Take a big breath. I have shocking news!!!

Here it is .... drum roll................
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Emily and I agree on something!

Ta! Da!!

Allan, so you know, taking pictures of your wife or another woman as she walks in front of you is a dangerous activity. I learned long ago that no woman, ever, wants her backside in a picture. Taking such a picture will subject you to harsh criticism or, possibly, bodily injury. Just sayin'......

I have seen much less use compared to 3 years ago. It is no longer an annoyance.

I do think it is a generational thing. However, I have a selfie I took (without a stick) of my wife and I kissing while standing on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. It was taken 50 years after our very first kiss, which was also in Florence.

I'm reminded of the Kinks song "People Take Pictures of Each Other":

People take pictures of each other,
Just to prove that they really existed,
Just to prove that they really existed.
People take pictures of each other,
And a moment could last them forever,
Of the time when they mattered to someone.

The Kinks, from the album "The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society"

In many travel videos, future travelers are warned to not allow anyone else to use their camera, because they may not get it back without having to pay the person who took the photo.

In the words of Thanos, "I'll do it myself"

Wbfey1,

"Delete. It. Now." Is heard regularly.

In many travel videos, future travelers are warned to not allow anyone
else to use their camera, because they may not get it back without
having to pay the person who took the photo.

You are right I hear about that all the time.

In many travel videos, future travelers are warned to not allow anyone
else to use their camera, because they may not get it back without
having to pay the person who took the photo.

I used to worry about this and then I realized that most people offering were other North American tourists. You can tell by the language and the clothes. I guess maybe it's a good thing we dress like tourists so we know who each other is ;).

A few examples of people I've seen taking selfies - somehow we ended up taking the same route as a woman in Monaco who every time we saw her was making duck face and 'V' for victory hand signs. Or the woman standing with her back to the Eiffel Tower (at Trocadero) and taking multiple selfies, looking at them, deleting, taking another, making an 'ew' face, deleting it. We stood there for 3 min or so admiring the view and the whole time she was taking pics over and over. Maybe she did stand there and admire the view before or after we left, but lordy...if you can't get it right the first few times, give it up.

At least cell phones are smaller and less obtrusive then the people I've seen taking photos with their ipads...sigh.

I don't think we've been 'assaulted' by a selfie stick, but they can be a nuisance in museums - AS CAN us camera folks! We aren't blameless either for blocking things and not being self aware! Not me tho, I'm totally self aware ;) . Wanted to take a photo of the see thru clock at the d'Orsay and had to wait a good minute plus for another camera person to get their perfect shot and stand there and look at it on the screen, then realize two other people wanted to take a photo and sheepishly move out of the way. Every one can get caught up in the moment.

As a funny aside about how little I want us in our photos (I do take some with us, but out of say 1000 pics, 20 might have one or the other of us in them). We were in Paris over by Bir Hakeim and there was a family there and they asked me to take their photo with Eiffel in the back. Done. The wife said - oh, would you like me to take the same pic or you/your hubs? I looked over my shoulder at the view and went...nah. She may have been a little taken aback...lol.

DougMac, your beautiful posting about your time with your wife in Florence, and connecting that to the Kinks song moistened my eyes just a bit. Thank you! Perhaps that's what some (though not all...) folks are trying to do, even now, with selfies, especially group selfies?

Thanks jmauldinuu!

Did you hear the one about Boudreaux boss Pierre stopping by his desk one day after lunch. The boss said: "Now Boudreaux, you had a beer or two at lunch, didn't you?" Boudreaux said: "Oh no boss, I didn't have no beer! I had frog legs for lunch and what you smell are the hops!"

In many travel videos, future travelers are warned to not allow anyone
else to use their camera, because they may not get it back without
having to pay the person who took the photo

A woman asked me to take a photo of her family at Plitvice. I dropped her camera in the lake. I don’t take photos of other people anymore.

one time in Branson, A guy pulled me aside and asked me to use his camera and video him PROPOSING to his GF. I agreed, but because of the lack of familiarity with his phone, I wound up missing a small portion of it (probably the most important part)

I felt terrible, and slunk away not admitting to my screw up

“`A woman asked me to take a photo of her family at Plitvice. I dropped her camera in the lake. I don’t take photos of other people anymore.”

Emily, I laughed out loud.

Not quite everyone.

I made this post some time ago about the ethics of selfies and selfie sticks:
I want to defend selfies and selfie sticks, done thoughtfully. There are four points I'd like to make.

Selfies are not necessarily narcissistic. You are not Ansel Adams. That photo you're taking of the Eiffel Tower has been taken. You can find it on Google. Yes, even the artsy one from underneath the tower. Yes, even the one in black and white. What probably doesn't exist is the photo of YOU with the Eiffel Tower. That's what I want to see. That's what your family and friends want to see. It's an original. And there's an intimacy from the arm's length photo that I enjoy.

People think they take good photos. Most don't. The number of times we've handed our camera to someone only to get a photo of us without the background we wanted is quite high. When that happens, it's awkward to ask for another. You usually wait until they leave to take it yourself or ask someone else. And there are tricks to taking a better photo. Do you know about "touching the sky" on a phone to change the lighting? It's a great way to get a better shot.

Selfie sticks can capture fantastic photos that can't be taken without them. The angle you can get with that extra length can give you the height you need to take a great shot, especially with several people in it. Unless the stranger you ask is really tall, you're not getting that shot.

Rudeness does not require a selfie stick. We've all seen people in crowded spaces take way to long to take a photo of someone with a good 7 feet of space between them and their subjects. Again, you're not Ansel Adams and it's a point and shoot camera. It's rude to block the passage of a dozen people for your photo.

In our travels most of us have seen rude, thoughtless behavior, with or without selfie sticks. Instead of judging others for using the sticks and taking selfies, ask if they are really being disruptive. Instead of writing people off as narcissistic, see what fun they're having on their vacation. Imagine how their mother, grandson, or niece will enjoy seeing them on vacation. Better an ethical selfie stick in a traveler's hand that some other stick up somewhere else.

Happy Travels!
Scott

Not quite everyone.

Right, Cyn. Actually it's quite a small percentage of cell phone camera users that always need to turn it on themselves. My feeling is that if you need a stick to take a selfie then you probably shouldn't be taking a selfie at all and should be asking someone else to take your photo. Now, if you're out in the middle of the country and there's no one else around, feel free to indulge.