“Selfie” Named Word of the Year: See the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly Selfies of 2013
From Miley Cyrus to the Pope, everyone took part in the selfie phenomenon of 2013.
Oxford Dictionary has named the "word of the year" for 2013, and the winner may have surprised a few people. The word? The ever popular selfie. If you're not familiar with the term (which probably means you've been living under a rock), the dictionary defines selfie as follows:
(n.) a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.
Although the word isn't new by any means, (sources say it was coined in 2002), the use of "selfie" has increased by 17,000% in the past year. Most of the credit for this is probably due to the rising popularity of social media sites such as Instagram and Twitter, where most "selfies" are posted. Pictures posted by celebrities have also added to the social media phenomenon, with stars like Jenifer Anniston, Kim Kardashian, and Miley Cyrus making national headlines when they posted "selfies" to their personal accounts.
Below are some of the most infamous selfies of the year, followed by a few from some of the Town Square Media Staff!
COOLEST SELFIE OF THE YEAR: LUCA PARMITANO'S SELFIE FROM SPACE
The photo of the Italian astronaut was captured during a recent trip to the International Space Station.
INAPPROPRIATE TIMING SELFIE: PRESIDENT OBAMA AT NELSON MANDELA'S FUNERAL
To be fair, the selfie was instigated by Danish Prime Minister, Helle Thorning-Shmidt, who says she has no regrets about snapping the pic at Mandela's funeral with the POTUS and UK Prime Minister David Cameron. The best part of this pic? First Lady Michelle's face.
NSWF SELFIE OF THE YEAR: KIM KARDASHIAN'S SWIMSUIT PIC
Followed by Kanye West tweeting that he was "headed home!!!!". Gross.
GROSSEST SELFIE: GERALDO RIVERA'S ALMOST NAKED PIC
I just threw up in mouth. Props for being in shape, but some things are better kept to yourself. Especially when you are my grandfather's age.
CRY FOR HELP (OR ATTENTION) SELFIE: MILEY CYRUS' EYEBROWS
Was she trying to channel the White Witch from the Chronicles of Narnia? Obviously she realized how horrible the bleach job looked after she took this pic, because she's now coloring them in.
In the spirit of the 2013 word of the year, I rounded up some of the Townsquare Media Staff to take some selfie's of their own! Check out our pics below!
Annddd here's Jamie's eye.
Tweet me YOUR selfies! @DaniOnUS105!