We do it from the mundane comfort of our bedrooms and offices and to commemorate special occasions, like a beach vacation or the high school prom. It has its own spot in the dictionary, right next to "selfhood" and "selfish."
不论是在日常的卧室或办公室，还是为了纪念像沙滩度假或高中毕业舞会这样的特殊场合，我们都时时不忘自拍。“自拍”一词在字典中也有一席之地，紧邻着“自我”和“自私”。
And this year it earned its place as the Oxford English Dictionary's 2013 Word Of The Year. The selfie has taken over our culture -- and our smartphones.
今年，“自拍”还被牛津英语字典列为“2013年度词语”。可以说，自拍已经席卷了我们的文化，以及我们的智能手机。
The rise of the selfie has become universal -- between presidents, popes, celebrities and citizens alike -- and the trend is only continuing to grow.
人们对自拍的热情已经遍布各行各业，从总统、教皇、明星到普通的民众无一例外，并且有愈演愈烈的趋势。
A recent survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 54 percent of Internet users have posted original photos online. And of those hundreds of millions of photos, many are of the self-depicting variety.
最近一项由美国调研机构皮尤组织的调查显示，54%的网民曾将拍好的原图直接上传。在这亿万张照片中，很大一部分是网友各式各样的自拍照。
For example, currently there are nearly 62 million tagged selfie photos on Instagram, the social media tool that has significantly contributed to the personal portrait's popularity. That figure, which continues to rise every day, doesn't even begin to include the selfies shared on Facebook and Twitter.
比如目前，对个人上传自拍张风潮功不可没的社交媒体工具Instagram上有6200万标签为“自拍”的图片。这个每天都在刷新的数字甚至还不包括在Facebook和Twitter上转发的图片。
Despite its dictionary definition, which describes the selfie as "a photograph taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website," the first mention of the word can be traced back to an Australian online forum from 2002 -- long before the days of the iPhone's front-facing cameras and the popularity of social media.
尽管“自拍”一词在字典里的解释是“一种通常用智能手机或网络摄像头为自己拍照并上传至社交媒体网站的照片”。这个词语的出现却可以追溯到2002年在澳大利亚举办的一次网络论坛，那时还远没有苹果手机的前置摄像头，社交媒体也没有那么发达。
What makes the selfie so captivating -- and why do we feel compelled to take one? According to Dr. Pamela Rutledge, psychologist and director of the Media Psychology Research Center, the desire to take, post and get "likes" on selfies goes back to a biological behavior all humans are wired for.
是什么让自拍如此有吸引力？为什么我们对自拍欲罢不能？媒体心理学研究中心主任、心理学家拉特里奇博士认为，自拍、上传、求赞的心理是我们人类所共有的一种生物学行为。
"I think it influences our sense of social connection in the same way as it does when you go to a party and people say 'Oh I love your dress,'" Rutledge told The Huffington Post. "Biological, social validation is a real need and there is even an area of the brain that is dedicated to social activity."
拉特里奇博士告诉《赫芬顿邮报》：“我认为就像你去派对希望听到别人说‘哦，我好喜欢你的裙子’一样，自拍会在社交上影响我们。从生物学角度来说，我们确实需要社会认知度，人脑中甚至有一块区域专门分管社交活动。”
There is a way to adapt to the growing selfie culture. Whether you're a selfie novice or an advanced poster, there are always things to be mindful of when you're posting, Rutledge advises. She offered two main principles to follow when it comes to posting on social media:
适应日益壮大的自拍文化是有方法的。拉特里奇建议，不论你初涉自拍界还是已对自拍颇有心得，上传自拍照的时候都应该留心。关于在社交媒体上上传自拍照，她提供了两大主要原则：
1.The Grandmother Rule
奶奶原则
"Don't post anything online, whether text or visual, that you don't want grandmother or future employer to see," Rutledge said. "Selfies especially."
“不管是文字的还是图片的，不要把什么都一股脑儿放上网；有些东西你是不会想让你的奶奶或未来的老板看到的。自拍照尤其要注意。”
2.The Elevator Rule
电梯原则
"You wouldn't say something in an elevator that you or no one else wants to hear -- the whole world of social media is an elevator," Rutledge said. "Be aware of the breadth of platform. It's easy to think you're sharing a photo with a few people, but Instagram is public and people can stumble across things."
“在电梯里你是不会说一些你自己或者其他人不想听到的东西的——整个社交媒体就是一个大电梯。要注意舞台的宽度。你很容易想当然地认为你仅仅是在和少数人分享图片，但实际上照片分享应用Instagram是公开的，人们随时可能偶尔发现什么。”
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