Technology, beauty and narcissism — all in one.
The Selfie Brush holds an iPhone 5 or 5s and lets the user primp to perfectly coiffed perfection before snapping a selfie. Did you just read that and get excited? OK, then here’s what I want you to do:
- Go get your non-selfie-taking hairbrush. (I’ll wait.)
- Hold the hairbrush up like you’re about to snap a selfie.
- Bonk yourself in the head with it repeatedly.
- Go find a volunteer activity.
This selfie stuff is officially becoming an unhealthy international obsession. In fairness, the Selfie Brush does sound like a good gift for the hair-and-selfie-obsessed crowd, which I imagine is mostly tweens. But hasn’t this whole obsessive selfie-taking gone far enough? Are we really looking for cutting-edge innovation to help chicks snap duck-lip pics? Haven’t we reached critical selfie mass yet?
Selfies themselves aren’t really such a bad thing. But it’s the super-spontaneous and intimate nature of the selfie that leads people to make bad choices.
Selfies aren’t always your friend. There are plenty of examples of selfies gone very, very wrong, like the guy who accidentally shot and killed himself while posing for a selfie with a gun.
Or how about the man who was bitten by a swan while trying to take a selfie?
And for teens, who often find themselves competing for selfie supremacy, selfies can be especially dangerous. From dumb copycat seflies like #behindthewheel to sharing nekkid snaps, teens and their tendency to see themselves as completely infallible combined with a smartphone camera can be a toxic mix.
Even the pros sometimes go too far. The selfie-obsessed queen herself, Kim Kardashian, was told by her sister Khloé and momager, Kris, to put down the iPhone, step away and address her pathological need to snap and share her selfies with the world. And this is a woman with a selfie book deal.
President Obama got his selfie etiquette all wrong when he took selfie snaps with other foreign leaders at Nelson Mandela’s funeral. The First Lady’s face in the picture says it all. Tacky, Barry. Tacky.
I’m just not sure a Selfie Brush encouraging people to take more selfies is what we need right now. But hey, do what you dig. For about $20, you can get your very own Selfie Brush and turn every mundane primping experience into a selfie moment to share with the world. Or, you know, you could think about that volunteer opportunity. Just a thought.
More to help you selfie responsibly
5 Tips to perfect your selfie smile
5 Tips to take the perfect family selfie
Kim Kardashian shares her tips for taking the perfect selfie
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