Jackie McGregor: ​ Ready, steady, pout: Belfast is the top selfie-taking capital in whole of UK

Two young couples sat at a table behind ours. All four were taking snaps of their starters, they did it wordlessly, like they were performing a boring, routine task.

“They must be having the three-course special,” I whispered.

“It probably presents more photo opportunities,” scoffed hubby.

They powered through their first course at lightning speed, then the mains arrived. There was much oohing and aahing over each other’s plates. They all began snapping photos. All went quiet again as they tapped away at their phones, no doubt posting photographic evidence of their menu choices to social media.

I noticed how little conversation they made with each other, but they gave undivided attention to their phones throughout the meal. When their desserts arrived, there was more frantic photographing, you’d think Beyonce had entered the room! One even stood up to get a better angle of his cheesecake, this was presumably the money shot! It all looked rather exhausting, nevertheless, I rapidly struck an, I’m-perusing-this-riveting-wine-list-whilst-looking-alluring-and-interesting, pose for fear of being inadvertently snapped.

“You’re posing again, aren’t you?” said hubby without looking up from the dessert menu.

“Of course!” I replied.

“They’ll probably just edit you out if you’re in shot,” he laughed.

I hate seeing myself in photos, yet the thought of being magically erased as an undesirable, was slightly disconcerting.

People are becoming more self-obsessed. They post everything from their meals to intensely private information on to social media, desperately seeking validation from others. As I watched the young couples, a Bible quote came to mind which predicted that in the future, people would become, ‘lovers of self’. This appears to be rapidly coming true, we are certainly lovers of selfies!

According to a study by Samsung, Belfast residents are the top selfie takers in the UK, taking 814 of ourselves annually. Research found 48 percent of UK people admitted to taking selfies, to make their friends and family jealous of their lives, while 30 percent do it to make an ex-partner jealous.

As we drove through Belfast city centre on the way home. I was appalled to see two girls fighting in the street. A crowd had gathered, all were filming the spectacle on their mobiles.

No one appeared to be trying to break the fight up. It reminded me of the Gladiators in the Colosseum, in front of a braying crowd.

One girl was taking selfies of herself with the girls fighting in the background, she was smiling widely, eyes filled with delight, straining for the best angle. It was sadly apparent she had no selfie-control!

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