Why Singapore should ban Selfie Sticks

Selfie sticks are the cancer of 2015. Time for Singapore to set the trend and ban them completely for the sake of the tourism business here.

Their appearance in the corner of a photograph where the 'photographer' strikes a pose with an awkward arm makes me cringe. They just get into everybody's way and have become the reason to be somewhere rather than the "somewhere" being the reason to be there.

Gone are the times where friendships were forged on the streets because, hey, didn’t we use to ask someone to help us take a picture? How did the selfie syndrome become so popular that people actually made a tool for it?

It is the new Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) syndrome: How will my "friends" know how rich and happy I am if I don't post pictures of my #wanderlust, #adventure while checking off my #bucketlist? It's the Hong Kong Symphony of Lights, it's the Sydney Harbour Bridge fireworks, it's the Paris Eiffel Tower, it's Singapore's gorgeous Marina Bay… but all you see are hands and sticks in the air and not the landmarks.

Yes, I am overreacting or am I? Why wouldn't you rather live in the moment, enjoy the view, interact with great company than obsess about what people on Facebook think about you? Why do you need to record every moment through a selfie stick rather than breathe in and enjoy the views, enjoy the people around you, enjoy the culture.

This is a global phenomenon and even brands have jumped on the bandwagon with selfie campaigns to create buzz through organic storytelling by consumers. It first began with fashion's #ootd, then Adidas' #thisisme, Dove's #BeautyIs, the #SelfieOlympics; and now you can even stand a chance to win a free Starbucks with your #StarbucksSelfie.

Selfie campaigns are powerful because every consumer with a smartphone, especially at the current fast rate of adoption, turns into your potential brand advocate. This has proven extraordinarily effective for non-profits as a cost-effective channel to quickly generate awareness. We can see this in the renowned #ALS and #nomakeupselfie campaigns.

For brands however, it is hard to tell the difference between your real advocates and hopeless narcissists. Inevitably, there always lingers an egoistic sentiment: 'Hey, I’m trending!' or 'Hey, look at me, I care about this popular issue just like everyone else!'

Companies and organisations are now hitting back. In New York various museums now ban selfie sticks. In London the same thing is happening. Football clubs like Arsenal and Spurs are also now banning them. The trend is against selfie sticks and more about enjoying the sites and the event for itself not because if it's not on Facebook it doesn't exist. Isn't it time that Singapore did the same?

Singapore's new Natural History Museum has become one of the first places in Singapore to ban them, shouldn't other places join in and do too to enhance the experience of the non-selfie stick majority?

Are selfie sticks the same as chewing gum? Chewing gum is infamously banned from sale in Singapore for excellent reasons to do with the cost of cleaning (coming form London and seeing millions of dollars spent on removing thousands of black marks on paths that came from chewing gum, it makes total sense). Should Singapore follow this up and have a policy of banning selfie sticks too?

If they did, they would garner great PR just like the chewing gum ban still does. They would also attract millions of tourists who are not interested in selfie sticks, usually older, more affluent and who are not interested in recording every moment of every day on their social media.

Earlier this year, a study was carried out by SurveyMonkey where 74.1 percent of respondents answered a resounding 'NO' when asked if they have ever considered purchasing / purchased a product/service by a brand of company that included selfies. Almost half of all respondents voted that selfie promotions were 'not so effective' or 'not effective at all'.

In other words, while selfie campaigns created buzz, its real impact on the consumer decision-making process is questionable at most and potentially negative at worst.

What is your customer really saying when they upload a selfie? Are they really helping you say 'here's my face with the product I use on my face' or 'scratch the product, here's my pretty face'?

What do you think? Should we get our selfie game up? Do selfies have a foothold at helping businesses and brands grow and if not can we completely abolish selfie sticks now? Should Singapore ban the selfie stick altogether and start a global trend?