New Delhi: The smartphone self-portrait or 'selfie' has firmly become a global phenomenon. Its growing popularity has also crowned ‘selfie' as the word the year for 2013. Selfie is now defined by Oxford Dictionaries as "a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website". To qualify, a word need not have been coined within the past 12 months, but it does need to have become prominent or notable in that time.The word "selfie" first popped up in an Australian chat room on September 13, 2002, to describe an undignified scene, the dictionaries' publishers believe. Here is a gallery of "selfies" from around the world:American actress Amanda Bynes is known for her Twitter rants and scandalous selfies.Kim Kardashian taking a selfie.The You Tried selfieActress Angelina Jolie takes a photo of herself with a fan's camera at the Paris premiere of "World War Z."Tom Hanks takes a selfie with fellow actor Steve Martin at the 2013 Governors Awards.Pop singer Justin Drew Bieber taking a selfieFormula One Driver Lewis Hamilton taking a black and white selfie Pop singer Rihanna taking her selfiePop artist Stefani Germonatta aka Lady Gaga taking her selfie during a showPope Francis has his picture taken inside St. Peter's Basilica with youths from the Italian Diocese of Piacenza and Bobbio who came to Rome for a pilgrimage, at the VaticanIn this photo, provided by NASA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Aki Hoshide, Expedition 32 flight engineer, uses a digital still camera to expose a photo of his helmet visor during the mission's third session of extravehicular activity (EVA)In this photo, Actress Meryl Streep uses her IPhone to take a photo of her and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton following the State Department Dinner for the Kennedy Center Honors gala at the State Department in WashingtonU.S. actor Brad Pitt poses for a photo with a fan upon arrival at the South Korea premiere of his latest film "World War Z" in SeoulDavid Beckham poses for a photograph with a fan during a media eventKim Kardashian surrounded by her fans who are attempting to have their photographs taken with her as she leaves a radio station in Melbourne, AustraliaUS First Lady Michelle Obama takes a picture with a supporter after speaking at a rally at Buchtel High School in Akron, Ohio.
Updated on: November 25, 2013 8:53 IST
