Selfie Sticks Banned at Australian Art Galleries, Following International Trend

The selfie stick is a point of much debate in pop culture. Some see it as evidence of the end of Western civilization, while others see it as just silly, and then there are those who think it's actually a helpful tool. While the selfie stick may just be a tool for improving one's ability to take pictures, there are some who are banning it from museums.

A number of Australian art galleries have placed a ban on the selfie stick, The Herald Sun reported on Monday. This includes the National Gallery of Victory, the National Portrait Gallery and National Gallery of Australia.

According to the National Gallery of Victoria's director, "visitors are welcome to take photographs with handheld cameras in non-restricted areas of the gallery for personal use." However, users are not allowed to bring additional devices into the gallery, such as tripods, lights or any other external equipment.

This isn't the first time a venue has banned selfie sticks. Some British music venues banned the selfie stick for privacy reasons while European soccer clubs banned them out of fear that they could be used as weapons. The device has also been banned (or at least heavily regulated) in South Korea, Iran, Mecca and the Australian Open.

While many museums are placing limits on the device, the National Gallery of London told Business Insider that it doesn't intend to ban selfie sticks in the near future. However, if a selfie stick user is disruptive, or a security risk, the gallery staff is trained to handle such situations.

Tags
Ban, Australia
Real Time Analytics