I used to hate selfies – and worse still – I’d judge the people who took them, harshly. Then I completed a year-long challenge to understand their value, and it’s safe to say I’m a selfie convert. I love them. Want to take one? Go for it, you sexy thing.
So that makes this latest research kind of sad, really.
In a recent survey from HotelsCombined, it was revealed that while 41 per cent of 20-somethings share photos with family and friends on social media of all their holidays, only 20 per cent of older age groups do the same.
60 per cent of 20-somethings are getting creative with their images, too – using photo editing apps and filters, compared with only 23 per cent of older age groups. Teach your oldies how to use VSCO, people. They are missing out.
The idea of everyone being “obsessed” with holiday selfies is a bit rich, too – nearly half of Australians who travel are generally social media shy, posting photos of only one in every four holidays. Not even half of millennials post selfies on every holiday they take.
“These findings did come as a surprise,” said Chris Rivett, Head of Marketing at HotelsCombined Australia and New Zealand says. “With the millions of Aussies on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, the perception is that we love to post the best moments of their lives, which includes travel.”
“The results indicate that, on the contrary, selfies at the beach and photos of our meals aren’t necessarily being taken for the purposes of our social pages, but for the memory, something private that we can look back on, which is really interesting given how prevalent social media is in our lives.”