If you've been on the internet recently, you've probably seen a number of headlines reading something like this: Paris Hilton Claims She Invented Selfies. While Paris Hilton is without a doubt an icon and visionary, which she knows herself, did she actually invent selfies? In addition to that critically important question, we have to ask, does Paris Hilton actually believe she's the creator selfies?
The quote these media outlets are referring to comes from a profile of the former reality star by W Magazine. While the topic of Hilton's influence on selfies did come up, she never actually said she created them. Take a look at the original snippet here:
Despite Hilton’s longtime dependency on various cellular devices, it is perhaps visionaries like Steve Jobs who are indebted to her, seeing that it was Hilton who took their creations beyond their wildest expectations, inventing along the way the maligned but ubiquitous selfie.
“If a beeper had a camera, I would have taken a selfie with it,” said Hilton later, agreeing that she was truthfully the matriarch of the modern phenomenon. “I think I have a selfie from when I was a little kid, like on a disposable camera.”
This makes a lot more sense than Paris Hilton outright stating she is the sole creator of the selfie. It's fairly accurate to say, though, that she is the matriarch of the "modern phenomenon"
Before there was Kylie Jenner - before there was even Kim Kardashian - and a slew of other young Instagram stars, there was Paris Hilton. As for the generation of selfie takers the hotel heiress inspired, Hilton thinks they have it easy. "Anybody with a phone can be famous now," she told W.
And there you have it, folks. Paris Hilton did not create selfies, but we still owe much to her. We bow down.