To be surprised by the number of people who only seem to care about taking pictures of themselves?

[IGaveSoManySigns]

I’m in Rome and spent the day walking around all of the various tourist sites. Everywhere, even in the Vatican city, people only care about taking selfies. Not looking at the information around them. Not taking pictures of the actual sights and historical monuments. Just pouting selfies and videos of them walking. It’s doing my head in!

There's nothing wrong with people wanting photos of themselves and their family or friends! I'm quite camera shy so tend to avoid being in photos but I understand why people want momentos.

Your OP seemed to be decrying endless selfies without actually taking in the surroundings or appreciating the moment itself, which I agreed with, but your later posts suggest you think any photos at all are indicative of boundless vanity, which is ridiculous tbh.

I don't take photos of places for anyone else though. I don't expect anyone to be interested in them in the future. I take them because I like seeing how they come out and remembering the places I've been.

If someone asks me to be in a photo I will oblige but it's not important to me.

I really don’t get it either. A mum I know has posted pics from every single day of the summer holidays, even if they haven’t left the house. Every single day there is at least one close up selfie of herself pouting. I genuinely can’t understand what motivates someone to want to turn the camera in on themselves to take a close up pic every single day and post it on SM!

Yeah on this trip I’ve been totally self indulgent with my photography and taken a ton of pictures that nobody else will really care about. But they’re nice to me!

I’ve said myself I’ll take a quick selfie. It’s just the need to do it at every single spot that winds me up

I hate being in galleries where some self proclaimed art lover stands in front of a painting, their nose inches from the piece, blocking everyone else’s view and examines it for twenty minutes whilst studiously ignoring the waiting crowns who would also like to take a look 🤷‍♀️

why do you think you are any less vapid because you believe photos taken with your little phone are better than professional photos taken from professional photographers? It's not like you can't find amazing pictures of the Trevi Fountain, so why do you need to take yours?

Because I want my own photo, not a stock photo from the internet.

Yes, that’s also annoying, though less so in my view. But plainly there is a middle ground between just photographing yourself by a picture and not looking at it, and staring at it in a way that interferes with others’ opportunities to do so.

I don’t think the OP is complaining of people taking photos per se, or even selfies with something great in the background to have as a memory of seeing something or being somewhere. It’s the fact that there seems to be a rise in people photographing themselves for the likes, overtaking actually experiencing being there and interfering with other people being able to enjoy the experience too.

I swim in the sea every day and am astonished how many people (alone or often in couples) will put on a cossie, wade into the sea up to their knees, take a million selfies (hair tossing, pouting, throwing poses) and then wade straight out of the sea again. It's like their life only exists in the camera.

When people look back on those photos, do they remember the day, or just the taking of the photo?

Yeah this one amused me. Imagine just downloading stock photos and pretending that you took them!

It’s just all about the likes, which k find so sad

I remember my gran going through old photos, trying to organise them for family. She binned all the non-people photos. In the end, it's memories of people you want to keep. That said, I never take selfies and don't use social media, I just take a gazillion pics of my kids!

Aye I think basic courtesy and awareness of other people in busy places is all that's needed really

that wasn't the point. Who said anything about "pretending"?

You are judging others for taking photos that matter to them, why do you think you are superior for taking photos that matter to you?

You might not be interested by your face in front of a monument or a piece of art, so what? Others are.

Some people also take selfies because there's no one else to take their photo.I STRONGLY recommend to all the mums to actually take selfies! Have photos of yourself, photos of you and your kids.

YOU think it's a good memory to have a photo of a fountain, I want a memory of ME in front of the fountain. You are not superior?

When people and pets are gone all you have left of them are memories and photos. The balance is to take lots of photos but not so many that you don't enjoy them whilst they're here.

Some people are going to hit 60 and realise they've spent their whole life on Instagram.

so do people taking a selfie, so what's the problem?

Again - I’m not talking about a quick selfie. I’m talking about stopping every thirty seconds, and having people take photos for you!

And doing walking towards the camera videos. And another thing about stock photos is they're likely to have been heavily edited and bear no resemblance to what I saw.

I disagree. I think they will. I would absolutely love to see selfies of my my great grandparents and grandparents throughout their lives at different locations- how cool it would be to have that documented now rather than just the one photo of them on their wedding day. My grandparents died 25 years ago so long gone.
Photos from their collection of a random view or mountain not so much because they are not here to tell me anything about it.

Honestly, I would bet in 10 years when you look at those photos again, the ones you are really interested in has people you know and care about in them. Not a view of the sunset or of a building

Not happened in 15 years yet of me collating albums but maybe. I will occasionally look at old holiday photos and it is definitely the places I am more interested in because I'm unlikely to repeat going there. The people I don't need any reminders of, they are already familiar to me.

Exactly. And I’m not inconveniencing anyone by sitting in a quiet corner of the Vatican and taking some pictures!

Doesn’t really matter what the subject of the photo is. Anyone who takes ‘a ton’ of photos and gets in people’s way is a dick.

Having spent a long time trying to find photos of a person after their death, I’d much rather have photos of people than a landmark.

There’s a difference between a candid snap and a posed narcissistic picture though