Famed Photographer Predicts the Death of the 'Selfie' The 'selfie' fad may appear to be gaining steam, but legendary '60s photographer David Bailey gives it a 6-month shelf life.
By Laura Entis
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
According to the esteemed folks at the Oxford Dictionary, "selfie" was the word of the year for 2013, beating out strong contenders such as "twerk" and "Bitcoin." To David Bailey, however, the selfie is just an ephemeral fad.
The famed 76-year old photographer, whose iconic portraits of '60s era movers and shakers (Kate Moss, Mick Jagger, and Jack Nicholson, among others) will be exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery starting Feb. 6, told Reuters: "I only just found out what selfies were. I thought it was something entirely different! It's just a silly moment."
Bailey claims he's never snapped a "selfie" (which the team at Oxford Dictionary helpfully defines as "a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.")
Related: In Defense of the Selfie
"People won't be doing it in six months' time," he continued. "There will be another craze, I can't see the point."
Perhaps. But really, probably not. After all, everyone is doing it. And the Oxford Dictionary defended its choice with some pretty staggering statistics: "Language research conducted by Oxford Dictionaries editors reveals that the frequency of the word selfie in the English language has increased by 17,000% since this time last year," it wrote.
It's not just 'selfies'; Blaine isn't a fan of landscape shots, either. "For me it's always about the people," he told The Telegraph. "I've never been interested in trees or mountains much. I admire Ansel Adams, but I've never been a big fan of what he does. Really it's just another f------ tree, isn't it?"
Related: Social Media Year in Review: 13 Must-Know Statistics from 2013 (Infographic)
