( CNN ) -- Seriously , how is this not already huge in the United States ? According to The Daily Mail , selfie sticks are the must-have gift this season in Britain . The pole is used to extend camera phones more than three feet away , thus allowing users to take group selfies , panoramic shots and the like . Thousands have already been purchased in the United Kingdom . No surprise , given that 2014 is the year of the selfie -- at least , according to Twitter . Selfie sticks first took off in Asia and , according to the Daily Mail , gained popularity among extreme sports enthusiasts who started using it as a way to capture images of themselves in action . The Daily Mail reported that `` The most basic is simply as extendable pole , meaning the selfie-taker sets the phone timer to take a picture . But more advanced versions from Â£14.99 have Bluetooth shutter releases on the handles which link to your smart phone , meaning you can control exactly when you take your picture . '' It 's that Bluetooth system that caused South Korean officials to ban the use of `` unregulated '' selfie sticks and to declare that they might be hazardous to other devices . Liana Satenstein recently wrote about the device for Vogue under the headline `` The # SelfieStick May Be the Most Shameless Fashion Accessory Ever . '' `` The selfie stick may seem solely for the extremely self-involved , but before you point fingers , or sticks , I 'm not the only one using it , '' Satenstein wrote . `` Look up # selfiestick on Instagram and almost 40,000 results of beaming couples and families holding the device appear . '' One Twitter user posted , `` I am now the proud owner of a # selfiestick , '' along with a pic of him and some mates . Which begs the question : Is it only a matter of time before the trend hops the pond , given how few Americans have , ahem , selfie control ?
` ` Selfie Stick '' apps allow users to extend their camera phones . Thousands have registered overseas , but not in the United States . South Korea has also ` ` unregulated '' selfie sticks with Bluetooth .