Towards the end of every calendar year, the division of Oxford University Press responsible for the publication of dictionaries declares a "word of the year." According to the
Associated Press account of the annual selection, the chosen word "best reflects the mood of the times." For those who have not yet seen that report, this year's word is "selfie." Presumably, "the mood of the times" is that, while the economy has not yet recovered with any substance, our capacity for self-indulgence is back up to snuff again!
Just to put the most neutral possible spin on this phenomenon, I think it likely that the widespread emergence of this behavior stems entirely from the widespread emergence of front-facing cameras on smart phones. Our capacity for self-indulgence has been well-established for some time.
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