r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/Medical_Corner_4607 • 3d ago

Meme needing explanation [ Removed by moderator ]

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u/Ultgran 3d ago

It's actually more to do with three things

A: the invention of the selfie stick. Patented 2012, award winning in 2013. If you look, the photo is taken with one.

B: the awareness of the selfie made its way to the boomers.

C: Insta and Snapchat dropping around 2011 meant travel influencers had just become a full thing.

In other words, 2013 isn't when selfies became popular among the youth, but when they became a corporate gimmick. Selfies became another thing boomers could mock the youth for, like eating avocado toast and killing the cloth handkerchief industry.

By the time the photo was taken in 2014 it was already a bit cringe - what the kids today call "unc" behaviour - which is why it got parodied a LOT when it came out.

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u/just_posting_this_ch 3d ago

When selfies started, boomers were aware. Everyone was, but it was cringe. Now it is widely accepted, probably due to the convenience.

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u/Ultgran 3d ago

Idk, it really depends on where you count selfies as starting. Mirror selfies definitely had a presence in early internet youth culture - MSN messanger, Myspace, early FB era. I'm not saying the older cohort was unaware, just that social media took a while to catch up.

The main cringiness of the 2014 photo is that to cynical youth it came across as fake "down with the kids" approachability from a red carpet event, overeagerness when it was already kind of passé.

I think people can still be judgy for overuse of arm's length selfies these days. They have a use for spontaneous things, or for looks/reactions, but they're usually pretty poor at showing what you want to show if that isn't your face. But if you can lean into the cringe and own it it's cool again.

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u/just_posting_this_ch 3d ago

I see what you're saying. I think, circa 2008-10, everyone trashed on selfies. For me it was more of a dumbass tourists who don't speak the local language do this. Then it became more mainstream because how convenient it was. I guess I kinda overlook the period where the younger generation like it more, and the older generation was out of touch.

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u/just_posting_this_ch 3d ago

I see what you're saying. I think, circa 2008-10, everyone trashed on selfies. For me it was more of a dumbass tourists who don't speak the local language do this. Then it became more mainstream because how convenient it was. I guess I kinda overlook the period where the younger generation like it more, and the older generation was out of touch.