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Sam Begin

Senior Brooke Espelien got her selfie stick for free via a promotion at American Eagle. "I got it for free when I spent more than $70," said Espelien.

The selfie stick. Love it or hate it, it has arrived and is making inroads as a popular tool among students. Whether seen at a storefront, on social media, or at a sporting event, the selfie-stick is a contentious product sweeping the student body.

The selfie stick is an extension snapped on to a phone that extends out further than the arm can so that a photo can contain a larger group of people or a wider field-of-view within. Many selfie sticks even have remote controls, allowing a user to take a photo simply by pressing a button on the handle.

Senior Brooke Espelien has a selfie stick and even got it for free via a promotion at a store.

“I got the selfie stick when I spent over $70 at American Eagle,” Espelien said, “It came free with my purchase.”

Both Espelien and senior Ellie McGinley got their selfie stick via a promotion retailer American Eagle Outfitters held in the spring of this year. The promotion was any purchase of $75 or more in stores would result in a free selfie-stick thrown in. The deal was part of a campaign by the retailer to get popular users of Instagram to post a selfie with the phrase “#AEOSELFIESTICK”.

The selfie stick is mainly used at athletic or social events to get more people into a shot and expand the group you can take photos with. Particularly, the selfie stick is a common sight at football games.

“I typically bring it to every football game and it gets a lot of use out at the football games,” McGinley said, “That seems the be the most common use of it right now, I don’t think I’ve used it for anything else.”

The selfie stick can also be used to bring people together and meet other people at these events.

“If you pull out a selfie stick at football games, people gather around and it gives them a reason to talk to you,” Espelien said.

The selfie stick is slowly becoming an essential tool at any social events, and it is inevitably passed around multiple people all wanting to try it out.

“I love it. It allows so many people to get into one picture,” McGinley said. “Everyone thinks it’s so cool and is always wanting to try it.”

The selfie stick is a pop-culture icon that has stormed into high school life, and it seems to be growing in stature as an essential social tool by the day.