( CNN ) -- I have 711 photos stored on my iPhone , but none of them is a `` selfie . '' That could disqualify me from commenting on the choice of that neologism , coined in 2002 , as the Oxford English Dictionaries `` Word of the Year . '' On the other hand , I do own an old two-volume microprint edition of the OED and read it on occasion for pleasure with the use of a magnifying glass . So give me a shot . The editors at Oxford Dictionaries describe `` selfie '' as an informal noun and define it as `` a photograph that one has taken of oneself , typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website . '' They note that frequency of the word has increased in a year by 17,000 percent . Ammon Shea , who spent a famous year reading the monumental OED from beginning to end , alerts me that words selected for such an honor `` arouse a certain skepticism and derision '' among many wordinistas . He notes that this honor is the work of the OxfordDictionaries.com . As for the more famous OED , a press release notes that `` Selfie is not yet in the Oxford English Dictionary ( OED ) , but is currently being considered for future inclusion . '' Though I 've never taken a selfie , I have made cameo appearances in the cell phone photos of others . I enjoy this experience , especially at book fairs , where an eager reader may seek a souvenir photo with the author . The result can be quite endearing and funny , especially when it exaggerates the gauge of my nostrils , making my schnozz look like a double-barreled shotgun . Before the cell phone , the best way to get this effect was to drop a quarter into a photo booth at the mall or the arcade . I wonder if there is an American anywhere who has not been pictured on one of those four-photo strips , usually accompanied by a girlfriend or several drunken classmates . Even in the age of the selfie , these booths have made a comeback , especially at weddings and reunions . At my daughter 's wedding , you could slip into the booth with one or more companions , mug for the camera , see yourself on a computer monitor , take a strip home as a memento , and donate a strip to the bride and groom , creating an instant album of happy faces . In that context , a selfie is a good thing , with that diminutive ending , suggesting the creation of a `` little self . '' Think of the selfie , then , as a virtual `` mini-me , '' what in ancient biology might have been called a `` homunculus '' -- a tiny pre-formed person that would grow into the big self . Or maybe there 's a dark side to this moon . Maybe the connotation of selfie should be selfish : self-absorbed , narcissistic , the center of our own universe , a hall of mirrors in which each reflection is our own . It would fit the times , of course , an era in which selfies decorate the narratives of our social networks . Here I am at my reunion ! Look at me with Mickey Mouse ! ! Check out my new boob job ! ! ! It 's me , my selfie , and I . In the past , it took some kind of human connection , or tricky photography , to capture your self-image . `` Excuse me , sir , can you please take our picture ? '' It happened to me last week outside the National Theater in Washington . Three young women wanted to pose in front of a poster of musical theater star Idina Menzel . So the Word-of-the-Year brainiacs probably got it right . I ca n't think of any other word that so captures our confusing and contradictory culture , so technologically forward looking and so personally self-obsessed . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Roy Peter Clark .
Roy Peter Clark : The Oxford English Dictionary has named ` ` selfie '' ` ` Word of the Year '' He says word of mouth ' can sometimes be derided by word nerds . He says they are fun , like photo booth comic strips ; they are like ` ` mini - me '' pictures . Clark : Word captures our culture : technologically forward looking , self - obsessed .