Ben Carson on selfies: Please stop

Ben Carson is sick of selfies.

The Republican neurosurgeon and 2016 hopeful penned an op-ed for the Washington Post Outlook section’s spring cleaning feature on why the practice of taking a picture of oneself needs to go. This past year, Carson wrote, the practice completely crossed the line with the introduction of the selfie stick into the American mass market.


“The selfie stick ushers in a new, even worse and more dangerous era for the form. The stick doesn’t just validate selfies by building a cottage industry around them. It also says, ‘Snap them everywhere!’” he wrote.

“Please stop.”

Carson said that selfies reek of “obvious narcissism,” and added some unsolicited medical advice: that selfies are dangerous. He pointed to a Polish couple that fell off a cliff last August while snapping a pic and a pilot who killed two in a selfie-induced plane crash as proof.

“Focus your camera on your surroundings, not on yourself!”

Carson has stated that he is exploring a long-shot run for the Republican nomination in 2016. With the recent announcements of Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Carson is expected to make up his mind soon.

The piece did leave one important question unanswered: whether he would translate this bold anti-selfie stance into policy on the campaign trail, where supporters are known to pester preferred candidates for a quick pic at every turn.