This year, more of us realized what our generation is becoming when the word “selfie” was added to the Oxford dictionary. Selfies play but a small part of this “narcissistic generation”. Twitter has allowed people to “tweet their most inane thoughts”, as if what we are saying is “so interesting/compelling/funny that it must be immediately offered to the world.” Photobombing, “where people sneak into the background of a photo being taken of someone else right before it’s snapped”, also take part in this generation as well. Although some of these pictures are truly funny, “there’s no denying that many photobomb because they want to upstage the photo’s intended subjects. This is only another example of our desperate need for attention.
However, “if the generations before us had access to the same technology we do, they would have acted just like us.” For example, why wouldn’t Neil Armstrong have snapped a selfie while on the moon with earth in the background? Or photobombing “pictures takes at Woodstock or at anti-Vietnam war rallies?” Future technological advancements will undoubtedly make it even easier for us to share more about ourselves than now. Why not use a photobomb app to insert yourself into an image of an impoverished child to bring attention to the millions of children who live in poverty? Or tweet a photo of a U.S. military veteran to raise awareness about the 22 veterans that commit suicide everyday, or the wounded veterans who still need our support. The list of issues, from countering domestic violence to the bloodshed in Syria, goes on and on.
Why not use