The “millennial selfie” has been booted and 0.5 images have waltzed in. Gen Z’s creative and innovative selves have created a new craze for 0.5 photos as well as created social media trends surrounding the images. 0.5 images are taken with the back facing camera which plays with the camera angles and the individual’s proportions. The spontaneity, honesty, originality, and personality is what pulls individuals towards the renewed selfie. The selfies have gotten so popular that even The New York Times reported on the topic with Kalley Huang saying “An unedited 0.5 selfie is more organically playful than a front-facing selfie. … making it seem like the photographers take themselves — and social media — less seriously.”

“It just comes out funny and distorted and switches it up” says Ellie Rudd, a senior at Ridgeline High School. She says it’s easy to take 0.5’s and a good way to include everyone. “You can turn the camera around and get a big picture with a lot of people in it” although, because the 0.5 feature requires the back camera, you never quite know how the picture will turn out. Rudd’s take on the trend is a “modern day polaroid” capturing moments in a goofy way. 0.5’s have changed the idea that every picture needs to look good, it’s good to look stupid once in a while and have fun with your friends.

Tigan Hill feels the photos are more “interpersonal than normal allows.” She enjoys the 0.5 feature because the wide angle allows the photographer to get everything in the image without having to move back, which improves the overall aesthetics. Their “out of the ordinary” way brings students together, creates memories, and is a great way to make/meet new people.