While selfie-sticks may make it easier to snap that fun photo of you and your friends enjoying a day at the museum, concerns about torn paintings and smashed vases have been making some museum owners nervous enough to call a ban on the gadget.
The Smithsonian, Louvre, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, California’s Getty Center, Washington DC’s National Gallery of Art and Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art are just some of the major museums that are asking patrons to put the stick away during visits.
And it’s not just museums that have banned what Steve Dent at engadget.com calls “the logical extension of an already irksome activity,” but Dent reports that selfie-sticks have also been banned in Premier League soccer stadiums.
Museums that allow photography are not anti-selfie. But the sticks, like the conventional tripod, are dangerous devices to use around breakable pieces of history.
So if you’re going out to see some art at a museum, more than likely your arm is the only selfie stick you’ll be able to use.
