Apple didn't take the moral high road on this one. The company has added a section to its App Store called “Sharing Selfies.”
And you guessed it — it's chock-full of apps that enable users to share those wonderful self portraits everyone just loves to see!
Snapchat makes an appearance, of course. The app allows you to send photos or videos that “self-destruct” after a preset period of time.
Close-up is also included. This app reminds you take a picture of your face everyday, as it slowly builds “a daily photo journal for your face.” You can then create a time-lapse video or GIF of the journal.
And then there's Frontback, an app that enables the front- and back-facing camera while taking a photo and stitches them together for a unique look.
Plus several more. The Sharing Selfies section is available on the front page of the App Store on both the desktop and iDevice.
Of course, a move like this one doesn't come without criticism. Gizmodo's headline starts off “God Help Us,” and the writer sarcastically says: “Just in case you were feeling a little too happy with humanity, here's something to change your tune.”
And Mat Smith of Engadget keeps it simple: “Not the app store section we needed, but the app store section we deserved,” referencing the famous selfie snapped by Ellen and the gang at the Oscars.
Then again, CNET sees the move as a sort of endorsement from the Cupertino company, writing: “the selfie phenomenon appears to have won a certain measure of legitimacy from Apple.”
Either way, it's a smart move by the company. Drawing on the popularity of the selfie, Apple offers up free and paid apps that selfie-snapping users will inevitably download.
But a warning to viewers — sure, Apple's making it that much easier to snap selfies alone or with friends, but as Gizmodo reports, selfies could be dangerous. According to a California lice expert, there's been a “huge increase of lice in teens this year.”
The expert blames the infestation on teens sticking their heads together to snap selfies. So download those selfie apps at your own risk ... or just stick to single-person selfies.
