Today, we live in the prime of selfies. They have changed our social interactions body language self-awareness humor, and public behavior. Solely because a selfie is an instant communication of who we are, where we are or what we’re doing. Selfies have officially become a new genre of art affecting society on completely different levels. This unique form of “art” was founded in the 1500s itself, and from there, to say the least, the “self-portrait photograph” has come a long way.

1524- The idea of a “self portrait” was created

Out of curiosity, in 1524, Parmigiano wanted to portray himself the way he was seen through his barber’s convex glass. The portrait is drawn as if the viewer were to look through a lens and see 21-year-old Parimigiano. From this point, the artist had instilled the evolutionary idea of a selfie.

1839- First Self-Portrait Picture was captured

In 1839, Robert Cornelius created the first ever self-portrait. In November 1839, Robert Cornelius ran into the frame and sat still for five minutes before running back and replacing the lens cap. In doing so, he had created what is believed to be the first photographic self-portrait.

2003- The first front-facing camera was created

For two years, people struggled to take the perfect selfie. But in 2003, the creation of the forward facing camera changed everything for society. People no longer had to take a picture of themselves in the mirror or turn their phone backward to attempt to take a decent picture of themselves. Years later, big companies like Apple and Samsung picked up on the idea and started producing phones with the forward camera.

2011- The term “#selfie” was used

Though the term “selfie” was used regularly in certain places, the effect of putting it online made the term a globally known word. In 2011, Jennifer Lee became the first person to use the term “#selfie”, as she posted her own selfie on Instagram. Since then, “#selfie” has been used over 100 million times, essentially allowing the term to gain extreme popularity.

2013- The word “Selfie” is officially added to the Oxford Dictionary

After years of attempting to perfect the selfie, the word finally was added to the dictionary as “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website."

And the timeline goes on. But it really is interesting to see how far the world has come from a painstaking painting of a self-portrait to a quick digital self protrait. The truth is selfies will never stop evolving. From products revolving around the selfie (e.g selfie stick), to apps mostly devoted to selfies (e.g snapchat); There was even an offer to take a “selfie course” at UK college, alongside Kim Kardashian’s “Selfish” book (365 pages of Kim Kardashian’s selfies). There seems to be no end to this constant change of selfies.