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How Politicians Killed The Selfie

I like taking selfies. These guys should have not ruined it for the rest of us.

Benny Johnson BuzzFeed Staff

There was once a simpler time when politicians were not aware of the "selfie."

AP Photo

And we liked it like that.

Then suddenly:

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Someone in the press shop yells: "Hey! We should have them do one of those self-photo things that all the kids are doing."

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"It will make us look cool and relevant!"

Don't believe me? Read this tweet:

Yes, Tim Kaine, that is just like the Ellen selfie. Nailed it.

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Honestly, it is just really, really awkward to watch.

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We don't care if some kid just runs up to you and wants a selfie because you're famous.

You're just being nice.

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It is when you just take one in your boring day for no reason and force it on us.

I mean, we know you have staffers who can take that picture for you.

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You clearly have a staffer available to take a photo of you taking a selfie.

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But you just want to ruin the selfie for the rest of us.

Don't we have enough photos of you already?

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Do we really need one more while you are at a memorial service?

Via ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP / Getty Images

Or from this angle?

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Or this angle?

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We DO NOT mind if you take a selfie that actually has personality.

Or if you are somewhere super cool we didn't know you were.

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Or if it is really pretty out.

But it is a problem when you bring the selfie into your boring life just to ruin it for all of us.

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Or when it is clearly a promotional gag, David Ortiz.

NO.

Twitter: @billclinton

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This is actually what we are all thinking:

vine.co

The selfie is meant to be unpolished.

It's a unique social tool that we enjoy because it connects the user and the audience in an unpolished, personal, and often impromptu way. When your selfie goes through bureaucratic levels of office approval and hand-wringing, it saps the very nature that made the selfie a cultural phenomenon in the first place. This certainly is not the first time that an entity of the government has reached out for online relevance and fallen short, and it certainly will not be the last.

Most of us just wish politicians continued using the technology they are most comfortable with.

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So good-bye forever, selfie.

Dictators take selfies these days. So, unless you're just being nice or doing something cool, just stop.

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