The word Selfie finally makes into the Oxford Dictionary in 2013 – 21 years after I invented it!
In 1992 I embarked on my first ever solo travel adventure. While friends were starting to settle down, I was shaking it up. While friends were buying bricks and mortar, I was buying trips and memories. While friends were building their bank balances, I was building life experiences.
Being a solo traveller I quickly learnt that there wasn’t always someone to take a photo of you in front of whatever monument you had travelled half the world to see.
Although I had dubbed it the “self-portrait”, many a times the offer from a stranger to take my photo had been politely waved away as I explained that I am happy to take a Selfie, because I had, by this stage, perfected it.
The invention of the digital camera only encouraged more Selfies as the number of self-portraits increased dramatically.
Tip: Forget the duck face, jutting the chin out makes for a better self-photo!
Here are some Selfies from the digital era.