Word Of The Year – Selfie

noun (plural selfies)

informal

• a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website:occasional selfies are acceptable, but posting a new picture of yourself every day isn’t necessary

In the past year the word “selfie” has risen in popularity by 17,000%! And with good reason. You can’t open any social network without seeing shot after shot of people with that tell tale extended arm and facial strain from holding the camera or phone as still as possible. How do you think profile pictures get made? We are all guilty of the selfie, some more than others, like come on 16-23 year olds, you don’t need to post selfies every 30 seconds, try 30 days! I happen to love the selfie. As a busy mom I find that I’m always the one taking the pictures and I never end up in any of them. The selfie makes it possible for me to be in the picture AND take the picture at the same time. Selfies allow for the ultimate control over pictures. Get the best angle, smile just right, be silly and most importantly, the power of the delete button. Even my kids have learned how to take a selfie, albeit painfully out of focus and off centred.

And so in honour of the Oxford dictionary naming “selfie” as the 2013 word of the year, I would like to submit these other words to Oxford for consideration in 2014…

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Groupie

2 or more friends (or that guy sitting behind you at the Flames game) huddled together while the person with the longest arms tries to fit everyone in the frame.

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Spousie

You and your spouse cuddled in each others arms. Kissing optional.

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Reflectie

A selfie taken in the reflection of a mirror or window in order to  capture a larger image such as a new dress in the fitting room or the bathroom, what evs.

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Landscapie

Successfully getting a picture of the beautiful landscape behind you in a picture.

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Foodie

Because talking about how good a meal was is not as good as showing people how good it was. And so Instagram was born.

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Do you take selfies?

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