Paris museums have started banning selfie sticks

9 Mar 2015

Selfie sticks, the extendable metal staffs that allow smartphone users to snap photos of themselves from distances greater than their human arms can muster, may be banned from Paris museums.

According to The Telegraph, the Louvre, the Palace of Versailles and the Pompidou Centre have all begun ordering visitors to put away their selfie sticks amid fears they could damage some of the exhibits.

While formal bans have yet to be introduced, a spokesperson for the Louvre said “users must follow the rules and not point any objects at paintings, sculptures”.

A natural, ahem, ‘extension’ to this style of photography, which has become universally popular in recent years, selfie sticks exploded into the public conscience at the tail end of last year. It’s not uncommon to see visitors to Dublin waving the the five-foot long rods about on the Ha’penny Bridge these days.

Selfie sticks have, however, been banned from a number of venues, including the 3Arena and Olympia Theatre in the Irish capital.

Selfie stick image via Shutterstock

Dean Van Nguyen was a contributor to Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com