October 2018
“Selfie” was the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year for 2013. Its spread continued in 2014, when the BBC launched an international Selfie Day. The annual initiative takes place on 21 June, when people are invited to share selfies of all kinds. For example, there are helfies, in which haircuts are the stars and the person’s face may not even appear. Smartphones are often used to portray pets, while on other occasions the closest couples from the world of show business take centre stage. But what do you call it if a picture is taken by a flying drone rather than a smartphone? A dronie, of course! Let’s take a look at some of the many types of selfies.
A is for Animal selfie
From pelfies featuring household pets in general (hence the name, which is a combination of “pet” and “selfie”) to delfies with dogs, the range of animal selfies is endless. A big part in the spread of the craze was played by National Geographic when it launched an advertising campaign some time ago based on the funniest, cutest and most entertaining selfies of parrots, horses, hamsters, dogs and lots of other creatures. Pictures of pets - with or without their owners - are now some of the most widespread selfies around. According to a survey carried out by an American website for pet and dog sitters, almost one out of every five dog owners takes their faithful friends out for a walk in order to get their daily delfie fix, while 65% of those surveyed said that they had more photos with their dog than with friends or relations. So getting snapping with the hashtag #DogWalkSelfies.
D is for Dronie
Progress continues to be made by new technology and selfies need to move with the times, so why not try taking one with a flying drone? In other words, a dronie. Lie down or stand up somewhere outdoors and send the drone soaring up into the air, then steer it to a position above your head and take a selfie from on high. One of the first to have the original idea of taking selfies with drones was the young San Francisco-based designer Amit Gupta. A while ago, he posted a video on Vimeo of himself and two friends with their four-legged friends that he made with a drone. Someone coined the term “dronie” in one of the comments below and a new type of selfie was born.
F is for Felfie
How about animals in the countryside? They are the stars of felfies. The term stems from “farmer selfies”, which portray agriculturalists posing with flocks of sheep behind them, brushing horses’ coats or leaning on the fences of pig pens, thus taking nature online. There is even a blog called Farmingselfie.com that has been set up by a farmer from Essex in the East of England to gather felfies from all over the world. A few years ago, the Irish Farmers Journal launched a contest to find the best selfies on farms. The winner was a felfie of a farmer (https://www.facebook.com/IrishFarmersJournal/photos/a.10152441514903835.1073741843.208480693834/10152441515118835/?type=3&theater) standing in front of a herd of cows with his thumb up and a pipe in his mouth.
H is for Helfie
Showing off a hairstyle is another popular choice among people who like being in the centre of attention. When it comes to helfies (whose name fuses “hair” and “selfie”), it doesn’t even matter if you can’t see people’s faces long as they can let you know how they’re feeling, right off the top of their heads. After all, a new haircut or a masterfully prepared ponytail simply can’t go unnoticed, so people share photos taken from behind or with their faces looking down in order to show off their locks in glorious detail. The stars can’t get enough of this sort of thing. Helfies are huge among everyone from the teen idols Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez to veterans such as Kim Kardashian, Jessica Alba and Miranda Kerr.
R is for Relfie
What close-knit couple would be complete without a relfie to broadcast their love to the online world? The name combines the terms “relationship” and “selfie” and the trademark pictures of this kind involve things such as knowing glances, passionate kisses and dates. Relfies are taken by couples in love who want to share everything about their lives together with the web, from everyday activities to glamorous events. Which celebrities are the queens of the relfie? Among the couples who are fondest of proclaiming their love on Instagram are the pop star Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z, and the fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni with the rapper Fedez. However, you should be sparing with pictures of this kind if you value your relationship: according to the Australian sexologist Nikki Goldstein, relfie addicts may be avoiding dealing with issues in their love lives by seeking validation online, Like after Like, and trying to please the internet rather than their partners.