Getting recognized is a need for ego. People are not creatures that can easily live happily without the ambition of their names to unwritten in the history. Up to 20 decades ago only rich aristocrats or ones who had great ambitions and the willpower to make that happen succeed that goal.
When it comes to our age reaching that goal become thousands of times easy thanks to highly developed communication tools. Getting someone’s face popular all over the world can be only take a selfie for now. People who seek that and can’t fight with this urge started to take selfies in most extreme places or situations. Their courage to do that worked most of the times.
Like every case people who had more courage leaded that new way to become worldwide famous and ordinary people fallowed their leads. Not everyone did seek same purpose but only wanted to promote their self towards social media accounts and this trend become normal.
Human instincts forced mankind towards great successes and failures since the beginning of his time. With the beginning of an easier life mankind lost “survive” instinct but “recognition” developed from instinct to need. Since the human nature will choose lazy ways if they find a chance this two cases combined, selfie become one of the most popular term for last decade.