Love It Or Hate It, The Selfie Stick Is Still An Obsession

DENVER (CBS4) - David Letterman was recently taught how to use a selfie stick by Tom Hanks on one of his final shows, but Disney World just banned selfie sticks from all their rides. As American citizens, what are we supposed to think about the selfie stick? As with most national issues, we're torn.

The selfie stick is a pretty clever invention that essentially extends the user's arm, allowing a selfie photo to be taken that captures more than your face. But the extending tool can reach 3 feet long and poses an annoyance, if not a hazard, to many.

I spoke to one selfie stick user, CBS4 photojournalist Eddie Castro, who uses it for both work and play. He likes it because you can get everybody in the photo, and include the background landscape.

His kids gave their dad a selfie stick for Christmas, and Castro wasted no time in debuting the device. During Christmas dinner at a fancy restaurant, he unveiled his new present to get a photo of everyone at the table.

"Everybody around us stopped and clapped at how cool it was," described Castro.

And that may be the problem: how cool it was. Castro noted how selfie sticks were cool at first, but now everyone has them. He said, "I think all the old people like myself took over it." He added that all of his sons' friends get their parents selfie sticks as gifts.

It's become a mainstay of the tourist, which irks some. In fact, Coachella banned the selfie stick because of its narcissistic intentions, and they've even been made illegal in some countries.

Yet while visiting the Hoover Dam, Castro said 75 percent of people there had selfie sticks, and Las Vegas sells them by the buckets.

PHOTO GALLERY: The Selfie Stick

In the end, will the selfie stick be nothing more than a quick fad? Something the next generation will see old pictures of and laugh at in disbelief?

I can't say the selfie stick is nearing the end, but it's certainly facing obstacles as museums, music festivals, tourist sites and whole nations ban the seemingly irritating device.