Did we ever ponder that selfie would become an integral part of our lives? That cracking a fictitious smile while taking a picture of oneself would be called art? Well, not until when a U.K. college announced a new course on the art of selfies called ‘The art of photographic self-portraiture’; when ‘Selfie’ was named word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries; and when recently there was a song called #selfie which broke the internet!

But, technology was slithered its way into our lives and right up to our smiles; only to prove that we believe in a superficial, made up and self-obsessed world. Taking a dig at the young generation on how pouting is so essential for a ‘good’ selfie to attract plenty of ‘likes’ on the social media, the principal of Global Indian International School (GIIS) Ahmedabad, surprised the audience at the school’s Annual Day celebration. Caesar D’Silva asked all seated in the Multi-Purpose Hall (MPH), to rise and take a selfie. Now, this was certainly uncalled for and everyone started wondering why the principal wanted them to take a selfie? Some people in the audience started to tidy their dishevelled hair while some put on the ‘beautifying app’ in their camera phones. They all took a few selfies and then broke into a laughter when the principal asked them to stop.

Some pouted, some captured their fake smiles and some very self-conscious. “The selfie has invaded our world of simplicity and originality. We end up taking several pictures of ourselves in an effort to click that perfect selfie. But, we forget that we smile the best when we don’t make a deliberate effort and immerse in whatever we do,” said the principal.

Well, that doesn’t mean we should abstain from taking selfies but it should be considered as an activity for fun. It should not at all make us self-obsessed and should not become a means for boosting our self-esteem.

Like Mahatma Gandhi said, “Simplicity is the essence of universality.”