Move aside autographs, selfies become cultural phenomenon

Kolkata, Dec 22 (PTI) Clicking selfies became an urban cultural phenomenon in India during 2014 leaving autographs outdated. Whether it was about flaunting a new hairstyle, telling the world about a brush with a celebrity, a party with friends or visit to a landmark place, clicking selfies was the choice of millions. When superstar Shah Rukh Khan visited St Xavier's College campus in Kolkata to promote his film "Happy New Year", no one thrusted pen and paper before him for an autograph. Instead the ubiquitous phone was pushed near his face for a click which was immediately shared on the Facebook profiles of students. Australian cricketing legend Shane Warne was among the first one to pronounce the death of autographs. In May, he tweeted, "After doing 5 selfies with people this morning before 8am on my morning run/walk I've come to the conclusion that the autograph is dead!". A rage across age groups, the cultural phenomenon influenced people from all walks of life - politicians, filmstars, sportsmen, ordinary folks and even the Pope. During the 16th Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi led the trend as his selfies after voting, meeting his mother, etc went viral with a huge number of re-tweets. Selfies, which mean a self-portrait photograph, became the best medium of self-expression as it promoted a culture of self-love and individual identities. PTI