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 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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