As many of you know, and frequently make fun of us for, we are the selfie generation. In our free time, we enjoy taking photos of ourselves, whether we put a filter on it or not, and uploading it onto some sort of social media platform. And, we'll probably make it our new profile picture, too. So, what's so bad about that? Well, apparently, we are seen as teens/young adults with huge egos who don't care about anything but ourselves. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten "ANOTHER selfie in your mirror?" "ANOTHER BATHROOM SELFIE?" "What's with the pics in the bathroom?" comments on my photos.

So, how did selfies really start? Marc Bodnick, the leader of the Quora business and community teams, believes that the modern selfie trend really started with the front-facing camera was introduced on the iPhone 4 in 2010.

But, I'm not sure if I 100% agree with Bodnick's theory. I think the iPhone's (and now many other smartphones') front facing cameras have definitely helped elevate the trend of taking pictures of yourself, but back in the middle school days when all I had was my non-smart Pantech Crux phone, I was still just turning the phone around and taking pictures of myself - hoping to catch my face in the picture and retrying if I didn't. So what does that say about me? Have I been obsessed with myself since I got my first cell phone in the 7th grade? (All the selfies were horrible anyway... here's some proof.)

So, what's up with selfies? Why are they a thing, and why do some people seem to really hate other people doing them?

People on Urban Dictionary seem to not be a big fan of the selfie. Here are some real definitions that pop up when you look up selfie on Urban Dictionary

"Selfie - A picture taken of yourself that is planned to be uploaded to Facebook, Myspace or any other sort of social networking website. You can usually see the person's arm holding out the camera in which case you can clearly tell that this person does not have any friends to take pictures of them so they resort to Myspace to find internet friends and post pictures of themselves, taken by themselves. A selfie is usually accompanied by a kissy face or the individual looking in a direction that is not towards the camera." By SaRAWRR

"Selfie - The beginning of the end of intelligent civilization." By Future Sociologist

"Selfie - A ridiculous practice of narcissism." By Nicole1016

"Selfie - The taking of a picture of yourself and posting it on Facebook because you have extremely low self-esteem and you need people to comment to tell you how hot or pretty you look. In reality you just look desperate for attention. And no matter how attractive you might be, you still look pathetic. See also duck face/kissy facemakes you look retarded." By haterofdesperation

So, what's up with the haters of the selfie? In reality, EVERYONE does it. The majority of Facebook profiles pictures, Instagram uploads and so many other posts on social media, are selfies. It's widespread. So, why do people hate it... but still take selfies? Well, let's look at the cons of selfies.

You Can Become Obsessed

Once you start taking selfies, you just can't stop. Kim Kardashian is the perfect example of that - that girl loves a good selfie. Even recently she's been getting some backlash for uploaded a selfie of herself naked in her bathroom. So, why does she always have to take a selfie? Well, cause she has become obsessed, like many others of us have as well. (Not all of us are so obsessed we pose naked but... to each her own.)

Some People Put Themselves In Dangerous Situations For The Sake of a Selfie

Selfies like this make me very scared. Sure, if you live to tell the tale of your extreme selfie... it's going to be super sweet. But if you don't... do you want to be known as the girl/guy who died taking a selfie?

Alright, so there are your cons of the selfie. You can become obsessed, and some people have even died doing stupid stunts for a selfie. So, what are the pros of the selfie?

They Snap Great Memories To Remember Forever

Selfies can help you remember awesome things you have done. Grab a bunch of your friends like I did above, get a selfie stick, shove them all together and - BOOM - got yourself a pretty cool selfie. Other examples, I have LOTS of selfies from the day I graduated high school. Sure I had other regular pictures done, but it's cool to have selfies with friends as well.

They Boost Confidence

There is no doubt that selfies boost confidence. Gone are the days when someone else takes your picture and it doesn't turn our right and it's over. Now with a selfie you can take your own picture, take it how you like it, make sure you look awesome in it, then upload it for all to see, resulting in a total confidence boost. If I post a selfie in a swimsuit, that means I am 100% confident in my body and want to show it off. If I take a picture cause I'm having a good day, I'm feeling confident in myself. If I take a picture of my outfit, I'm confident cause I'm ROCKIN' it. Selfies show off and boost confidence. Don't hate them, appreciate them.

Selfies have their pros and their cons, but there is no reason to hate on someone for loving to take them. Chill out, take a few of your own, and enjoy!