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For Better Or For Worse, Selfies Will Be Coming Along On Your Next Vacation

Leiris202
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Flickr
Taking a selfie at the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

It’s time to discuss something controversial. A topic so polarizing it has the potential to tear the very fabric of our society: The selfie.

Visit any place that attracts tourists – Pike Place Market, St. Peter’s Basilica, Tokyo’s Shibuya district – and you’ll see people with cameras held aloft. Sometimes those cameras are at the ends of poles. And the people are very often photographing … themselves.

Love them or hate them – and KPLU travel expert Matthew Brumley hates them – selfies have become part of our culture.

“The more we look [at] the world through a lens, the more the experience is lost,” he said. “Why can’t you just observe a sunset and be on the beach and just kick back and feel it and live it.”

But of course, there’s nothing wrong with taking your picture at tourist attractions. We’ve been doing that as long as we’ve been able to take photos.

Brumley just feels there’s a right way and a wrong way.

First, know the tone and the amount of respect expected at the places you want to take a selfie.

“You have to really look at where you’re at,” Brumley said. “Are you standing at the Vatican? Are you standing in front of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul?”

Even at the Vatican, there’s a difference between shooting a selfie in St. Peter’s Square, and shooting one in front of the altar inside St. Peter’s Basilica.

Credit _Well, it's a selfie, so... / KPLU
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KPLU
Had to. #sorrynotsorry

Second, be respectful of others around you. They might not want to be in the background of your vacation shots.

Third, take a few photos, and then put the camera away.

“You don’t need to document every single step,” he said. “Here’s a secret: Nobody cares about your photos. Not even you.”

His point: You’re probably not going to look through every single photo when you get home. Take 100 instead of 1,000, enjoy the experience, and make some memories – which is easier to do when you’re not staring at a screen.

Where do you fall on this topic? Are you a selfie loather (see what we did there?) or a selfie defender? Somewhere in between? Let us know in the comments.

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"Going Places" is KPLU's weekly exploration of travel topics. Matthew Brumley is the co-founder of Earthbound Expeditions, which arranges group travel for clients including KPLU. 

Ed Ronco is a former KNKX producer and reporter and hosted All Things Considered for seven years.