Instead of drawing self-portraits, today's teens pull out their cell phone, pout their lips and flaunt their most obnoxious peace sign before snapping a picture.
They laugh and shout selfie at the top of their lungs before snapping dozens more.
A selfie is Millennials' way of taking a picture of themselves and posting it online for the entire world to see.
However, Michael Fuhlhage, associate professor in Auburn's department of communication and journalism, said the phenomenon isn't limited to young people.
"Millennials are not the only ones who get in trouble with selfies," Fuhlhage said. "New York Congressman Chris Lee had to resign after his shirtless selfie surfaced. He'd sent it to a woman he ran across on Craigslist... He's married."
Often featuring pastimes such as bar hopping or revealing skin, selfies can cause trouble for those who take them.
"Our digital identities on the Web are starting to overshadow our physical identities," said Lori Andrews, author of "I Know Who You Are and Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy."
"We are creating digital profiles of ourselves that redefine us and could come back to haunt us," Andrews said.
While selfies have shown middle-aged adults such as Lee even personal pictures can easily become public, most problems come from teens and young adults about to enter the "real world."
"Once anybody, regardless of age, releases an image into the wild, it's almost impossible to control who uses it," Fuhlhage said.
Fuhlhage said the question of whether the behavior in the photo is appropriate should always be considered first.
A general rule of thumb is if you have to ask yourself "Is this appropriate?" before posting it, it probably isn't.
To drive this point home to millions of selfie-obsessed Millenials, Andrews put her advice in a relatable way for adolescents.
"Unlike Vegas, what happens on Facebook doesn't always stay on Facebook," Andrews warned.
Cell phones don't come with a warning label, and even with sound advice like this, many young people have made selfie mistakes without realizing it.
Kelsey Tucker, freshman in public relations, is already a successful fashion blogger. Though she's only been active for a year or two, her blog and Instagram, monogrammedprep, have more than 11,000 followers that enjoy her frequent fashion tutorials and, of course, selfies.
"I just did it [this blog] for fun," Tucker said. "I wasn't thinking, 'Oh, maybe I'll get a bunch of followers.' I was just bored. Followers just kept coming in."
As a thriving web presence, Tucker's pictures have already landed her a job as a fashion associate at Society South magazine.
"It's kind of cool, but it's frustrating sometimes because people will look at me and think, 'You're really stuck up. All you care about is fashion,' but that's just what I do," Tucker said. "I'm really down-to-earth, I love people and am a strong Christian, but people have this one-track mind about the person I am just based off my pictures."
Tucker learned this the painful way.
Though her fashion pictures have changed her professional life for the better, Tucker opened up regarding some revealing selfies that circulated around her high school and compromised her reputation.
"I was vulnerable," Tucker recalled. "My family had just moved to Huntsville, and my dad started having an affair. After he left, I sought out attention I wasn't getting from him."
Tucker is in college now, but the pictures have followed her and continued to haunt her for three years.
"I went through [sorority] rush, and I was dropped because the mistakes I made got out," Tucker said. "Even though I was a new person when I went through rush, people were still looking back on the mistakes I made three years ago."
"I've heard girls tell people not to be friends with me, and that's really difficult," Tucker said. "It's definitely been tough going around campus and having these girls know who I am--well, who I was--and give me looks like I'm still that person. But then I found my faith [in Jesus], and I completely changed."
While the beloved selfie has caused Tucker a lot of pain and hardship, she doesn't feel it should be avoided completely.
"I don't think the selfie is a negative thing itself," Tucker said. "Mine are for a professional reason, but someone who posts a good clean selfie every now and then is fine. After all, that's our generation, and is what it is. It just depends on what's in the picture because that's what sends the message."
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