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!

Yes, perception and individual preference.

You don’t like it? Fair enough. Does that make it a fact? No.

There is. The only positive to people posting lots of pouting selfies online is at least you can see they are a narcissist and are best avoided in real life!

I think it’s pretty universally agreed that anyone who thinks they’re so important they can hold up hundreds of other tourists at an attraction is a narcissist

Went to Lake Louise in Canada last year. I last went there about 15 years ago and loved walking around the Lake, canoeing across it, walking up the trail by the side of the Lake

This time we couldn't get near it. The whole of the outside of the Lake was crowded with groups of people taking photo after photo of each individual doing different poses and hand gestures etc, pouting selfies etc. It was really depressing. We decided to climb the trail by the Lake instead and get some good views on the way up. It's quite a climb but worth it. However, the first kilometre or so the trail was continually blocked by groups of mostly young people stopping to take photos of themselves with the Lake in the background - you couldn't get past them in some places. A couple of groups were even doing changes of outfits for each photo while those of us wanting to walk the trail had to wait for them to let us past. Pissed me right off!

This isn't about selfies. A selfie of my grandparents would be lovely. 150 photos, all with slightly different poses, different filters, strange pouting and knee bending- NO!

OP means the people who are spending 20 mins or more trying to get the 'perfect' picture of themselves. Especially the ones berating their travel companions for not getting the right lighting, filter etc. Setting up mini tripods to film yourself spinning, or walking. That is narcissistic.

Nothing wrong with a snap of your kids for granny to put on the mantelpiece. Coming back from your holiday woth a thousand pictures of your own face in front of various backgrounds? Seems very vain to me.

Yes!! People don’t seem to get it

It’s the fact they’re in full faces of glam makeup in 35 degree heat, on a once in a lifetime trip, and all they’re bothered about is their faces

Don’t go to Santorini whatever you do

I’d love to but don’t plan to because it’s been ruined by these typws

You could always just buy a postcard. 😉

That would give me neither any pleasure nor the shots that I want!

The sort of people photos that are interesting like that are the organic ones. I got a great shot of my cousin's daughter (who must have been five or so at the time) examining my father's tie at a family wedding. That photo resurfaces periodically and would be "one for the album" if prints were still the done thing. The photo of three of us kids crammed into a Little Tykes car was a classic too. I really should digitise the negative of that one. My cat is tricky to photograph, he sees me crouch down and walks up for a cuddle, so you can't get the shot. But once he stuck his head out from under a hedge, on top of a wall which happened to have flowers growing from it. Perfect shot which will outlive him.

No one is going to look back on a thousand pouting selfies.

I do take landscape photos too. I don't care if they're of no interest to someone after I'm dead, I'll be too dead to care. They bring me a lot of pleasure in the present though - I've framed one or two, and the Fire TV plays them as a screensaver so I'm frequently treated to memories of my travels.

Again, who will be looking back through thousands of pouting selfies?

I’m so glad selfies weren’t a thing in my youth. I loathe having my photo taken!

I don’t really understand it either op. I especially dislike people taking photos during somber occasions like funerals. The sea of phones out during the pope’s funeral was bizarre to me, especially when their owners were dignitaries who should have known better. I guess it’s just a sign of the times.

Exactly.

Who wants to look at thousands of selfies doing the same awful pouting face?

I was listening to a programme with Adam Curtis (documentary filmmaker) who uses tons of archive footage and he says he wouldn't be able to do his style in the future because people are now so knowing and posed, there's nothing natural and human to observe. Paraphrasing but it's the point you're making.

Doesn’t have to be a thousand selfies. And selfies just for social media / for clout without really caring much for where you actually are, are vapid. My point was that for most people when looking back on photos in years to come, those with people you care about are more interesting than landscapes etc.
I went on holiday with my extended family several years ago to Cornwall. The photos with my family members in are far more looked at and fondly remembered rather than those of the beaches and sun setting over the sea- can’t remember which beach lots of them were taken and the sun set although beautiful could be anywhere in any year. The only thing of interest about it was that I must have found it photo worthy at the time which tells me something of myself in those years. But that’s it.

I get what you mean—sometimes it feels like people are more focused on showing they were somewhere rather than actually experiencing it. But I guess for many, the photos are a way to prove the memory happened or to share it with others, even if it looks shallow from the outside.

there's no difference at all about inconvenient people being in the way, that's the point.

I like taking photos with my family (less so myself tbh!) and friends in them. 20 years ago I’d take loads of building/landscape/view type shots but now I think it feels pointless because you can see the most beautiful shots of the same places on the internet so easily. So for me it’s now more about commemorating our trip there, if you see what I mean.

When people post holiday snaps on Facebook and they’re in a generic Med resort and it’s endless pictures of them on the beach, by the pool, having dinner, I find that quite boring. If they’ve been somewhere really interesting I like to see photos of landscapes and architecture to give me an idea of what their destination was actually like.

well there is. A quick selfie after looking around and leaving versus an entire photo shot

well there is. A quick selfie after looking around and leaving versus an entire photo shoot

well there is. A quick selfie after looking around and leaving versus an entire photo shoot

Well you most likely don’t care about those people much then. When I see photos on fb of people I care about or are interested in, I’m mostly looking at those people in the photos. No a random snap of the sea or fields- those mean nothing to me and photos rarely do any view or landscape justice anyway.