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Why I’ve Joined the Selfie Stick Movement

Recently I traveled to Southeast Asia with my sister and before leaving on our trip we both thought the idea of a selfie stick was really ridiculous, but around the same time we started to see friends of ours start posting amazing photos from their travels on Facebook that they took with a selfie stick! Although we had minimal intentions of actually using this go-go-gadget extendable arm for taking photos, we ordered one off Amazon and packed in our bag, because you can never be too prepared!

Halong Bay Vietnam

Once we arrived in Asia we noticed the selfie stick craze was thriving there. Everyone was using them. So we whipped out our selfie stick, and despite the fact that initially we were a tad embarrassed about it, we got over it pretty quickly when we saw how awesome our first pictures turned out. Before you knew we were carrying the stick everywhere with us and snapping pics of the two of us at every chance we got. In fact, our best photos from the trip were taken with our GoPro attached to a selfie stick!

Luang Prabang Laos

Now I get it, they are completely ridiculous, and although I pointed and laughed at all the tourists in my city using them, when I began to see amazing travel photos pop up in my newsfeed taken with a selfie stick, I started to get on board with the whole movement and so did everyone else. In December 2014, over 100,000 selfie sticks were sold, and they were listed as one of the most popular Christmas gifts of the season (we even bought my Dad one). Retailers couldn’t keep these on their shelves, and quickly these sticks were moving away from only being a trend with the extreme sports community, and becoming a must-have household item.

Selfie sticks are now becoming so popular that some places are starting to ban them. Take a look at these 15 landmarks, cities and events that have opted to keep selfie sticks out and I’m not entirely against them making these rules. There is definitely a time and place for a selfie stick, and some people abuse it, but when it is an appropriate time to use them, they take some wicked photos and can be pretty useful for any traveler.

Here are just some reasons that I’m on board with the selfie stick craze, and I won’t leave on a trip without one.

They allow you to opt-out of always bugging people to take your photo

There’s nothing worse than wanting your photo somewhere and having to wait for the right moment and person to interrupt to ask if they will take it for you. Even worse, what if the photo doesn’t turn out, no one wants to be that person that has to ask them to keep taking your picture till there’s one you like!

Luang Prabang Long Boat

You can fit your whole group in a picture instead of one person always being left out

Okay, with my sister and I traveling there wasn’t really a group we were trying to get a shot with, but it was still nice to have lots of pictures of both of us together instead of a million solo pictures of one another. Plus, if you do have a group with you, it’s shocking how many people you can actually fit in. My family of 6 used a selfie stick on our vacation to Florida and we still had room for a few more people to fit in.

Ao Nang Thailand

You don’t have to worry about the safety of your camera

Although many travellers take this risk every single day, sometimes you just don’t want to have to worry about someone running off with your camera when you ask them to snap a photo of you. With the selfie stick, you literally do not need to worry about this at all.

Koh Phi Phi Viewpoint

They allow you to take some wicked photos from angles you wouldn’t normally be able too

No one actually has a go-go-gadget arm the length of a selfie stick, so with the selfie stick it allows you to take photos from angles and places you would have never though imaginable. The creative possibilities are endless and as the stick becomes more popular, we’re beginning to see some really creative uses of it. Like this one.

Chiang Mai Thailand

From now on I’m going to be carrying a selfie stick proudly on every trip I go on. Will you?

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6 Comments

  • Reply
    Connie Reed
    April 19, 2015 at 6:37 pm

    I’d been wanting a selfie stick and got one as a giveaway at a conference. I admit I wanted it for vanity reasons. I look horrible in close-up shots of regular selfies so I rarely get photos with both my husband and me in them when we travel. When my (adult) kids saw the selfie stick they made fun of me, as though I was the biggest dork ever. But then, that’s nothing new. I don’t care. I plan to use it on all of our trips.

    • Reply
      Lauren
      April 20, 2015 at 1:00 pm

      Good for you Connie! Once you get over that initial stage of being embarrassed by it, they sure are awesome!

  • Reply
    Tim
    April 24, 2015 at 7:00 pm

    Ok, I will admit I never wanted one but the two of you look very cute in all your action shots around Asia. It doesn’t surprise me, even though it seems a bit harsh, that they are being banned in some places. Maybe they should ban loud obnoxious talkers and disrespectful people first.

    • Reply
      Lauren
      April 24, 2015 at 8:38 pm

      I agree on that one! Thanks for visiting & reading. Maybe you’ll be getting a selfie stick for your next adventure after all. 😉

  • Reply
    alexa
    April 25, 2015 at 10:44 am

    I just got a click stick, but it’s a pain to try not to get my hand and the stick in the photo. Any tricks you use?

    • Reply
      Lauren
      April 25, 2015 at 11:02 am

      You have to try to adjust the way you’re holding it and adjust the attachment that your phone or camera is on. You may need to tilt the camera slightly up and then position the stick so it’s not straight out in front of you. It takes a lot of playing around with. Our first photos we took with it weren’t very good and always had the stick in it as well, but eventually you learn the angles that work best.

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