Photographed by Ryan Koopmans.
Drumroll please…Oxford Dictionaries have announced "Selfie" as their Word of the Year. Yes, we were surprised to hear this too. But it turns out, if it’s good enough for The Pope and Obama, it’s good enough for “the world’s most trusted dictionaries.” The noun is officially listed by Oxford Dictionaries Online as “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.” Their research revealed the hashtag favorite to be this years’ buzz word – according to their press release the use of "selfie" in English language has increased by a massive 17000 percent in the last 12 months. Other words that made their top 10 for 2013? "Twerk," "binge-watch," and "showrooming."
"Selfie" is thought to have originated in Australia in 2002 when an ABC Online forum user posted this caption: “Drunk at a mates 21st, I tripped ofer [sic] and landed lip first (with front teeth coming a very close second) on a set of steps. I had a hole about 1cm long right through my bottom lip. And sorry about the focus, it was a selfie.” Oxford Dictionaries would call this a "drelfie" – a drunk selfie. The spin-off term is mentioned alongside others including "welfie" (a workout selfie), and "helfie" (a hair selfie), as examples of how rapidly their Word of the Year has expanded since its inception 11 years ago. But, if you’re worried this new development is condoning the rise of smug selfies, don’t be. The official definition is followed by this rather perfect example of how to use the word in a sentence: “occasional selfies are acceptable, but posting a new picture of yourself every day isn’t necessary.” Well said. (Oxford Dictionaries).