Selfies are the newest form of communication that has reigned prevalent in the last five years. Social media websites like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook have pushed these cell phone self portraits to the front of the line. An article written for USA Today by Steven Petrow states that there are over one million selfies taken a day. Selfies have changed the way we look at the world, and it may be for the better. With the generation that is growing up in a world surrounded by technology that is practically made for selfie-taking, front-facing photos have become the new way for younger people to communicate with family and friends to share experiences and memories. Selfies are so popular not only with the youth of today, but they are also picking up with generations before its time; this is because we as a people have been taking photos of ourselves for now over one hundred years, it is so easy to take photos of ourselves, we have many different platforms of sharing selfies with friends, followers, and loved ones, and it brings us together as a people.
Photography has been around since 1000 AD when Alhazen invented the pinhole camera. The first photograph was taken in 1827 by Joseph Nicephore of a boy leading a horse, but the process of taking the photograph and having it burned with chemicals into a metal plate took over eight hours. The birth of the modern "selfie" was in 1839, when Robert Cornelius captured himself by removing the lens cap of a camera, sitting in front of it for a minute, then replacing the lens cap – a much different process we go through today. Since then, people have been taking photos of themselves for mementos, to send to friends and family, and to keep records. The first innovation to what is closest to selfie taking was when Apple released the iPhone 4 in 2010, the first mobile phone with a front-facing camera, making it easier to snap pictures of ourselves than ever.