Shakespeare once said that all the world is a stage, and that phrase has never been so true as it is today. Social media allows people of all kinds to form and feed personal audiences, and there’s no better way to appeal to one’s followers than to snap a selfie.
Selfies have become so popular that psychologists are working on forming diagnoses of those that are selfie-addicted, and companies are starting to seriously invest in the trend – which may not be a trend at all.
Sony Invests in Selfies
Sony seems to think that selfies are here to stay – for a while anyway. The company has just announced that it plans to invest some serious dollars in image sensors developed for tablets and smartphones. Why? Because device makers are creating better front-facing cameras, and those companies are targeting people that like to take selfies. In turn, Sony is more than happy to provide tablet and smartphone makers with excellent image sensors, or the best in the business if Sony can pull it off.
Just how much money is Sony putting into image sensors? Around 35 Billion Yen, which is around $345 Million USD. Clearly, Sony is taking selfies seriously because snapping photos of yourself is big business. Sony provides Apple with its image sensors (in addition to other companies), and the new funding injection will help Sony to produce sensors in a higher capacity. Currently, Sony leads the pack when it comes to image sensors.
The Selfie Trend
Even though selfies seem to be morphing (now people are trying to take selfies that don’t actually look like selfies), the trend is still red hot, and it doesn’t really show signs of stopping. When devoted Instagram followers will double-tap every photo of your face that you snap, it’s hard to stop taking those pictures – and that’s exactly what Sony and companies like Apple are counting on.
You can expect to see better cameras, more in-camera photo settings (kind of like Apple did with the last iOS update), and companies like Instagram working on ways to make selfies even more important.
Whether or not selfies are good for our collective mental health remains to be seen, but it’s clear that companies like Apple and Sony are betting on you taking more photos of yourself – and, yes, snapping pictures of yourself with your kids counts as a selfie. As the world becomes more selfie-crazed, companies are realizing that there’s money to be made. Will this trend end? It’s hard to say, but it doesn’t look like selfies are going to fade any time soon – or at all. As long as people have great cameras and social networks, selfies will take center stage.
Sony plans to spend 9 Billion Yen (of the company’s total allocated funds) throughout the course of this year on image sensors, and the rest of the money put aside for image sensors will be spent throughout the next fiscal year. Are you part of the selfie trend, or are you tired of it?