#BanSelfieSticks - Help Us Spread The Word!

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If you've been to a park recently, you probably have seen people using what I would consider one of the worst inventions to come along in recent time - THE SELFIE STICK!!!

In "concept" the idea is fine, a stick that extends your arm to get better pictures at moments when either you are alone or don't want to ask someone else to take a photo of you.

But then let's introduce "humanity" and this is what happens...

On top of just flat out looking stupid with your "Selfie Stick" people are sticking them up during shows blocking views, and TAKING THEM ON RIDES extending beyond the reach envelope that rides were designed for!

Add this to the annoyances of iPad video, vertical video, parents putting kids on their shoulders during shows, and do we really need yet ANOTHER annoyance at theme parks?

Help us spread the word! #BanSelfieSticks

Thank you!

--Robb

This is what I liked most about Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea. NO ONE during our visit ever put their camera/cell phone/iPad above their head during any performance. We were stunned that people listened to the announcements before each show. Just goes to show how respectful their culture is compared to ours.

^ This!

And Tokyo Disney actually sells their own version of the selfie-stick. From what I hear, they don't have the same problems with it in Japan that we have here.

So, people are seriously using these during park shows and on the rides? This is why we can't have nice things.

Hopefully these things get banned from amusement parks soon because they aren't safe and it makes whoever is using it look weird in my opinion.

Dumbest idea ever! Someone on the Carnival Glory did that and their fell into the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Youch. I saw the same issue at SeaWorld as well.

That Seaworld one, ugh.

Also, everyone knows you can't take a camera on a ride, do they think that if they attach a stick to it it's ok? I fully support the "ban selfie sticks" project!

I'm not trying to pigeon hole this, but is this happening only in the US parks?

Or is it happening around the world, like in Europe, as well?

Why don't we just bring our own. Then when we see others being stupid with theirs we engage them in a "lightsaber duel." destroying them both, getting park sercuirty to notice and ban them. (joking, but still these types of people suck.)

When I want a nice picture of myself at a park, I ask somebody else to please take the picture for me. It's called communicating with my fellow human beings...a concept that is dissappearing at an alarming rate.

I am all for banning the Selfie Stick. Ugh.

I'm not trying to pigeon hole this, but is this happening only in the US parks?

Or is it happening around the world, like in Europe, as well?

It's everywhere now.

Ugh.

These were all over the place in Hawaii...ridiculous and obnoxious.

With how bothersome they were in a relatively casual setting, I can see why these would be a recipe for disaster in a park. They extend out awkwardly and could easily breach the reach envelope of many rides, and they're hardly secure. I'm all for keeping these out of these situations.

There's nothing quite as powerful as a bad idea whose time has come.

I was starting to see these pop up all over the place on my trip to Disney World last month. They're annoying. I'm all in for banning selfie sticks.

Having those on rides is definitely a huge safety issue. Loose articles should not be permitted on any ride anyway in my opinion. As far as shows and anywhere else they are used, people will always be rude no matter what anyway, there's not much you can actually do. Even if they were "banned", people will still be rude and obnoxious. I do understand that these would be very annoying and obstruct the enjoyment of parks though. Just my thought process.

The ignorance of these sticks is insane.

Just because someone wants to record a Shamu show that they will probably never watch more than once afterward, it doesn't mean they should ruin the people's experiences around you.

Even in the general midway, it was insane how many people are so focused on their recording than actually seeing what is going on around them. I swear someday we are going to see those YouTube videos, similar to the overly focused texting videos, where a person with their head stuck up in the air watching their stick is going to walk into a fountain, pillar, another person, etc..

In the end, people need to realize that they do not need to record or take photos of absolutely everything on their vacations or daily lives. More importantly, I want to know how many people post their experiences on social media or just save them in their archives without actually watching or viewing these videos and photos ever again. A moderate amount of pictures or videos are definitely encouraged during special events, but when capturing your memories interferes with others, it has gone too far. From personal experience, the times I have recorded events or spent the most time taking pictures are the experiences I remember the least. Pictures and video are great to look back upon, but nothing beats the unfiltered experience.

I figured they'd be a bit of a problem after hearing my brother had dropped $80 on a selfie stick that could only attach a GoPro camera to the end of it (admittedly, it's pretty sturdy), but I didn't think it'd be THIS much of a problem... And it's not like companies like GoPro don't condone using them in amusement parks.

They have their fair uses in other places... Not really amusement parks.

^^Yes! People who spend their entire vacation taking pictures confuse me. How can you truly enjoy your vacation when you spend the entire vacation taking pictures? I take plenty of pictures when I'm at an amusement park, and I actually look at those photos (shocking, right?), and most of them are taken in a queue, walking down an exit ramp, or if I see a train coming I'll whip out my camera and hope it turns out. I won't wait for a long time to get a photo (many of my pictures don't have a train, because I want to get the most of my day, not wait for a train to come around)

^Wait, these things are $80! I could duct tape a camera to a stick for under $5 and still accomplish the same thing!

I'm amazed at just how popular these stupid selfie sticks have become. While I will occasionally see a really good photo from a selfie stick taken from a unique angle, the vast majority of the people using selfie sticks aren't doing anything that they couldn't do with a normal camera, aside from block people's view, take up room, and be a narcissistic self-absorbed asshole. I mean, do you really need a stick to take a selfie!? I am more than happy to ban selfie sticks from shows and in any other circumstances where they're not necessary.

^^ Agreed. And the research shows that if you are constantly taking pictures, you actually remember less than if you took no pictures at all. It's as if the brain subconsciously thinks it doesn't need to remember because you have that picture. Far from creating memories, excessive photos and videos can actually hinder you from making memories. A few pictures are fine; I myself take a couple dozen or so each day when we're on vacation. But not every single moment needs to be on film. Your mind does a pretty good job of capturing every moment without any electronic support.

Nobody looks cool with a selfie stick. I hate the idea that we are even discussing something called a Selfie Stick.

If they were used as intended, I wouldn't really have a problem with them. A tool to make it so you can have your whole group in a photo (in a situation where you would take a photo...with a character, in front of the castle, etc.) without having to ask someone for help or be forced to leave someone out because they have to take the photo is a great idea...

Of course, like Robb said, humanity can't get nice things without screwing it up.

Staples Center will make you check it in if you use it in a way that is disruptive to other guests at the game or event. More places should do that!

I noticed a few of them starting to pop up last year (were mainly foreigners who had them) but this summer, it's going to be a big pain for all parks with the recent popularity of them. I have a feeling most park managements will tell guests to put them away and to never have them back out and I have a feeling the consequences will be worse if they pull it out during a ride.

I'm all for banning these. I know I do usually spend a couple hours walking around a park taking pictures in between riding rides, but I'm using a DSLR and not getting in people's line of sight with a box on a stick above their head. This "selfie" generation is going to find out the hard way about being narcissistic and it's going to end up biting them in the butt, IE: they're going to post a stupid picture of themselves on the internet and it's going to lead toward consequences such as losing their job.

If they were used as intended, I wouldn't really have a problem with them. A tool to make it so you can have your whole group in a photo (in a situation where you would take a photo...with a character, in front of the castle, etc.) without having to ask someone for help or be forced to leave someone out because they have to take the photo is a great idea...

This right here. EXACTLY this!

If you're taking one-off photos like this one:

That's totally fine. Hell, there are even a few times where I could have used one for some shoots that we've done. But the uses are specific, and few and far between. What's happened though is people think that because they have this device, they HAVE to use it....EVERYWHERE. So they are now wandering around parks selfie-stick fully extended taking photos everywhere.

You don't see people going around the parks carrying monopods and tri-pods everywhere for the same reason. But people are idiots and this is what we have to deal with now.

Whenever I see one on Twitter, I just reply with my own hashtag:

#stickdick