While the act of taking photos of oneself has been around for a while now, it seems to have blown up in terms of popularity ever since the term “selfie” has been coined, so much so that some places have banned it. Then came the selfie stick which basically allowed more people to fit inside selfie shots and those too has since been banned in certain establishments.Now if you’re an avid user of the selfie stick, here’s something you’ll want to remember: museums in both New York and Washington D.C. have officially banned selfie sticks from being used inside their locations. These museums include the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the National Gallery of Art and it is expected that other establishments will soon follow suit.
This isn’t so much that the museums look down on selfies or the act of taking them, but rather the hazard that waving a stick around in a place where priceless artifacts and artworks are housed in could entail. According to the National Gallery of Art spokeswoman Deborah Ziska, “Anything that might swing around. We ask people to check them at the coat room. It’s about safety of the art, and in a crowded situation, safety of visitors.”
There is no discrimination as the museum also does not allow visitors to bring in backpacks, monopods, tripods, or umbrellas, so it’s really no surprise that the selfie stick was added to the list.
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