jackb1

Many ridicule them but they are still used.

Let me know your thoughts ... are selfie sticks acceptable?

Leopardz

If they serve a purpose and make you happy then they're most certainly acceptable. Just don't get in other people's way while using them.

CPRich

Depends what you mean by "acceptable".

Many museums have prohibited them due to damage caused. Other places have prohibited them because they interfere with other guests and generally just cause problems.

Don't even think about bringing your selfie stick to these tourist destinations

If you're alone and/or don't care about interfering with others, and they're not prohibited, then they are "acceptable".

I find them the equivalent of the old fashioned vacation slide show. Narcissistic exercises that no one else cares about in which you miss seeing what's actually there to see because you're too busy taking your own picture.

Personally, I prefer my memory of laying on a bench for 10 minutes and staring at the Sistine Chapel ceiling, tracing the intricacies of the painting, over looking at a picture of me looking at my phone down near my feet with a few pixels of the ceiling in low resolution in the background.

But maybe that's just me.

abmj-jr

This was hashed to death a couple of years ago and inevitably deteriorated into rancor and side-taking. I predict the same will happen here. It will eventually become a "selfie stick versus tripods" thread.

TimDP

Isn't photography forbidden in de Sistine Chapel? When I visited guards were constantly walking around making sure nobody took pictures but it's 10 years ago so perhaps things changed

wrp96

It's still forbidden. Ah, memories of the guards constantly yelling "Quiet Please!" and "No photos!" Definitely lessened the experience of the Sistine Chapel.

One of my favorite Rome memories is sitting at the Trevi Fountain eating gelato and watching all the people with their selfie sticks who had their backs to the Trevi Fountain the entire time, and never actually looked at the fountain with the naked eye.

LtKernelPanic

IMO no. There's a reason people refer to them as the "Staff of Narcissus." That said as long as you use a little common sense when you use them and follow rules regulating/forbidding their use you should be fine. If you're going to let your kids use one make sure they're not waving them around smacking people. I nearly throttled a kid after she smacked me in the head for the second or third time in under 10 seconds knocking my glasses almost completely off my face the last time. He father quickly told her to put it away after that. Didn't get an apology from either one. It's a good thing they didn't get completely knocked off my face and broken or I would have had serious words with her father.


edit: found the previous thread on the topic.

Selfie Sticks

LondonElite

abmj-jr

That's the one. Pretty much everything to be said on the subject.

lofirick

For me, they still are. I travel alone often so I have to use selfie sticks to capture that moment. If I use just my arms, my face takes up a big chunk of the space whereas using a selfie stick allows the view to be seen. As long as you don't bother any other tourists or you use it in a secluded area where there aren't many people and as long as you aren't hurting anyone, selfie sticks should be acceptable to use. You do you, boo.

abmj-jr

Keeping your mug out of your own pictures allows even more of the scene to been seen.

But hey. You do you.

SeAAttle

We visited the Sistine Chapel several years with a special guide who took us around the Vatican starting about 30 minutes before the regular tours. it was just the 3 of us. In the Chapel, I asked our guide if I could take photos. She said something to the guard, he shrugged and literally turned his back. I took some great shots while lying on the floor. I think we tipped the guard before leaving.

Great_circle

yyznomad

Well, they aren't acceptable (being used) while on Shinkansen platforms.

tentseller

There are no bad selfie sticks, just bad selfie stick owners.