Beyond the obvious

A tourist poses for a self portrait using his selfie-stick.  His selfie will probably be posted straight to a social media site; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any number of others with a caption along the lines, "Look how much fun I'm having in Bruges." In 2015 we noticed lots of people doing the selfie-on-a-stick thing  in Brugge. When people pose for these selfies their smiles often look forced. Or they pull weird expressions. They appear oblivious to the world around them, all attention focused on the small smartphone screen. Getting creative with a high viewpoint. And some people do it the old fashioned way, holding their smartphones. Three young ladies get ready to pose for a group selfie in Brugge. Are people becoming selfie-obsessed? Is it a good or a bad thing, or doesn't it matter? I remember when most of us would stop a friendly looking passer-by and ask them if they would mind taking a picture of us. Usually there was a bit of banter...