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Selfie

Self-portraits with a camera phone debuted in the mid-2000’s as digital technology expanded and social media sites rose in popularity. Once a phenomenon among young people, now everyone is uploading and sharing selfies.

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All Content on this topic

DW Shift Selfie + Drone = Dronie

Exit: Selfie + Drone = Dronie

Alex Chacón loves selfies - and technology. He filmed himself using a drone during a journey through Mexico.
April 27, 2015
DW Shift Exit Mr. Selfie

Exit: Mr. Selfie misses out on life

Landscapes, individuals, conversations - Mr. Selfie misses out on all this and more, due to his smartphone obsession.
March 24, 2015
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Exit: Mr. Selfie misses out on life

Gorgeous landscapes, fascinating individuals, interesting conversations - Mr. Selfie misses out on all this and more, due to his smartphone obsession.
CultureMarch 23, 201500:59 min
Touristen mit Selfie-Stick in Paris

Ban on selfie sticks in London

London's National Gallery and France's Versailles Palace ban selfie sticks used for taking photos.
March 11, 2015
Tourists with a selfie-stick in front of the Cologne Cathedral (Copyright: Oliver Berg/dpa)

'Selfie-sticks' taboo in many museums

For many museums the artificial arm extensions for photography so loved by tourists are an eyesore.
March 10, 2015
Bildergalerie Eiffelturm Touristen

The World’s Top Selfie Attractions

The World’s Top Selfie Attractions: Shift Ranking of February 25
February 25, 2015
Screenshot DW Shift Human Safari

Exit: selfies from around the world

Nicoló Balini alias Human Safari visited 100 places around the world, filming brief scenes of himself and around him.
February 24, 2015
A symbolic image of a selfie taken while on vacation.

Moving selfies

Love 'em or hate 'em, they're evolving.
LifestyleJanuary 30, 201502:55 min
DW Shift Weltreise mit Motorrad

Exit: Around the World on a Motorcycle

Alex Chacón spent 600 days making a solo trip around the world on his motorcycle.
January 15, 2015

Selfies as art

In this the age of selfies, 21-year-old Flora Borsi is capturing the spirit of the times with her work. The Hungarian photo artist makes surrealistic self-portraits or incorporates herself in famous old photographs with Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe. Her surrealist digital works are creating a furor around the world.
CultureDecember 21, 201404:47 min
The caveau or Leonardo One at Turin's Royal Library

Leonardo's selfie

Leonardo da Vinci's famous self-portrait is seldom displayed as it's a risky and costly business.
December 18, 2014
Symbolbild Micky Maus

Instagram's most geotagged locations 2014: Shift Ranking of December 9

1. Disneyland Anaheim, USA 2. Dodger Stadium Los Angeles 3. Times Square New York 4. Siam Paragon Bangkok 5. Gorky Park, Moscow Source: Instagram
December 9, 2014
Justin Bieber Auftritt

Most followed people on Instagram 2014: Shift Ranking of December 1

1. @justinbieber (12,3m follower) | 2. @kimkardashian (12,1m) | 3. @badgalriri = Rihanna (10,9m) | 4. @Beyonce (8,8m) | 5. @arianagrande (8,3m) | Source: Instagram
December 1, 2014
Australien Wirtschaft G20-Gipfel in Brisbane Banner

Shirtfronting, selfies, and no G20 scripts

World leaders have gathered in Australia for the G20 summit, with its planned economic focus set to be overshadowed by Ebola and the conflict in Ukraine. Tony Abbott asked speakers to use their hearts, not their scripts.
November 15, 2014
USA Kongresswahlen 04.11.2014

America votes

DW looks at some of the impressions from the US midterm elections
November 4, 2014
Young women taking a selfie

Lice-selfie conspiracy

A Russian consumer rights bureau is warning teens that the craze for selfies is spreading head lice. From Russia with love, the news has been circulating in German media. But where did it start and is it true?
ScienceNovember 3, 201406:43 min
Teenage girls taking a selfie with a smart phone (Photo: Fotolia)

Check your head

The proliferation of a claim that selfies spread lice illustrates our obsession with technology.
November 3, 2014

Nurses fired for patient selfies

Five emergency room staff have been sacked at a German hospital for posting humiliating photos of patients online, a spokesman for the clinic in the western city of Aachen has confirmed.
October 21, 2014
Actors from the horror stunt show "Horror Nights" take a selfie (Photo: REUTERS/Hannibal)

Selfies - A digital disease?

Are selfies turning us into duck-faced robots or are they actually helping us find who we are?
October 21, 2014

#WakeUpCall to help Syrian children

New charity craze sparks a #WakeUpCall for Syria on social media.
October 8, 2014
Danny Bowman, former selfie addict

Self-confessed "selfie addict"

Danny was the world's first self-confessed "selfie addict." He's now helping others cope with technology addiction and mental illness. But he says many mental health professionals, including his own parents, find it hard to make the link.
ScienceOctober 6, 201406:26 min
Screenshot Fotogalerie eines Instagram-Nutzers

Regions with the most Instagram users: Shift Ranking of September 26

1. Middle East & Africa (34% of internet users aged 16-64 have an Instagram account) | 2. Latin America (33%) | 3. North America (25%) | 4. Europe (16%) | 5. Asia & Pacific (16%) | Source: Globalwebindex
September 26, 2014
Junge Menschen Smartphone Symbolbild

Pulse

The pros and cons of digital technology - from selfie addiction to virtually attending gay pride.
LifestyleSeptember 9, 201429:59 min
Danny Bowman

Selfie addict helps others cope with tech overdose

Danny helps fellow selfie addicts cope with mental illness.
September 9, 2014
Danny Bowman

Generation Change

Danny helps fellow technology addicts cope with mental illness.
LifestyleSeptember 9, 201405:48 min
Lovelock Paris

Parisian #lovewithoutlocks

It's a European craze: fixing lovelocks to a bridge. But in Paris, the heavy objects of immortalized love are proving quite a strain for the city monuments. So the city has launched a selfie campaign - which, you'd think, tourists would love.
ScienceAugust 25, 201406:11 min

Spectrum: Noise and naked selfies!

We've got noise. Lots of noise. And it's annoying. Then we've got the narrative of vaccines on social media. And if you're lucky enough - or not - we've got your naked selfies on the Android phone we just bought.
ScienceJuly 28, 201429:59 min

Android: factory reset ≠ data safe

Do you have an Android phone? Well, if you wanted to pass on or sell it, how sure could you be that a "factory reset" would wipe all your personal data, photos (naked selfies, perhaps), emails and contacts? Listen on and find out.
ScienceJuly 28, 201405:59 min
Factory reset on an Android phone

Recovered naked selfies

Czech security firm Avast! says it's unveiled major holes in Google's Android operating system.
July 28, 2014
Germany players celebrate with their trophy after winning the 2014 World Cup final against Argentina at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro July 13, 2014. REUTERS/Darren Staples

Germany head home for big party

Germany's World Cup heroes are flying home for a grand reception in Berlin, albeit a little late. The plane was halted for two hours on the tarmac in Brazil after suspected damage to the aircraft's protective lacquering.
July 15, 2014

Selfie with Löw

After work, DW reporter Joscha Weber made use of the day's last light by taking a run along Santo Andre beach. While he did, he came across another jogger: Germany manager Joachim Löw.
June 20, 2014
Dictionary and magnifying glass (Fotolia: #54411084); © Fotolia/ktasimar

Webster's adds tech words

The growing influence on technology on our everyday lives is reflected in new words added to America's best-selling dictionary. "Selfie," "hashtag" and "tweep" now have official sanction.
May 20, 2014
12.2012 DW Shift Ranking

Cities with the most women selfies - Shift Ranking of May 12

1. Moscow (82%) 2. Sao Paulo (65,4) 3. New York (61,6%) 4. Berlin (59,4%) 5. Bangkok (55,2%) Source: Selfiecity
May 12, 2014
Selfie questionnaire graphic

Europe votes - selfie

Ahead of European Parliament elections, we'd love to hearabout what Europe means to you.
April 8, 2014
12.2012 DW Shift Ranking

Shift Ranking of March 28: Social Networks Where Selfies Are Being Shared the Most

1. Facebook 48% / 2. WhatsApp 27% / 3. Twitter 9% / 4. Instagram 8% / 5. Snapchat 5% / Source: Techinfographics
March 28, 2014
12.2012 DW Shift Ranking

Shift Ranking of March 17: The Selfiest Cities in the World

1. Makati City and Pasig, Philippines (258 selfies per 100,000 people) / 2. Manhattan, N.Y. (202) / 3. Miami, Fla. (155) / 4. Anaheim and Santa Ana, Calif. (147) / 5. Petaling Jaya, Malaysia (141) / Source: Time
March 17, 2014