Festival goers in the US will be sad to hear that selfie sticks have now been placed on the banned list for many festivals this year.

Lollapalooza and Coachella have already announced their banning of items such as the selfie stick with Coachella saying on their official site that “Selfie sticks / Narcisists” are not welcome at the festival.

Their stance seems rather judgemental, especially with them labelling people who use selfie sticks as “narcissists”. It’s true that it takes some level of self absorption for you to need a special attachment to be able to take a photo of yourself but there is also the viewpoint that this is all part of the experience.

The decision is in line with many British venues including London's O2 Arena and O2 Academy Brixton with a representative from the latter saying: "Selfie Sticks are not permitted at Academy Music Group venues. This is in keeping with our existing policy that prohibits the filming and photography during a performance with iPads and other tablet devices and includes any such obstructions for the satisfaction of other customers."

If this is the main reason for banning such items; that venues are afraid of people filming performances then this seems rather redundant. You only have to do a quick search on YouTube to find films of plenty of live performances that have been taken by someone on their phone. Yes, the slefie stick may make it easier for people to do such filming but banning them will by no means stop filming.

From my point of view, selfie sticks are harmless fun and it’s difficult to see why they are to be banned. I suppose there is the health and safety side of things (although this is a stretch) but the main issue that there seems to be the implied narcissism that comes with the use of such items.

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