AustLit

'In 2013, the Oxford Dictionary declared ‘selfie’ the word of the year, defining this phenomenon as ‘a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media’ (BBC News, 2013). Instagram and personal travel blogs seem to be some of the most popular platforms enabling travel writers to express themselves through selfies, aka travel selfies. Many studies revolving around the culture of travel selfies have been conducted to better understand tourist behaviour, tourist marketing and consumer habits. However, there is a lack of interdisciplinary research surrounding this complex socio-cultural phenomenon. Travel selfies, although popular, often spark controversy and in some places, travel selfies are prohibited for safety reasons or to show respect at memorial sites. Selfies are often considered narcissistic and therefore, sometimes frowned upon by society. In this paper, I explore the larger socio-cultural complexities of travel selfies and explore what a travel selfie may contribute to a writer’s travel account by investigating how the rise of the travel selfie has shaped the travel writer’s personal vision that usually evolves throughout the writing process.' (Publication abstract)