Two universities have banned selfie-taking during their upcoming graduations, saying the practice will disrupt the ceremony.
Officials at the University of South Florida and Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., have told graduates not to take selfies while onstage during the commencement ceremony, The Associated Press reported.
Kyra Ciotti, 22, had planned to snap a selfie of her moment accepting a degree in mass communication to share with a sister in Australia, but the USF ban has her thinking better of it.
"I didn't think it was that big of a deal," she told the AP. "But I don't want to be disrespectful."
On the other hand, fellow USF soon-to-be graduate Anthony Sanchez never thought of taking a selfie at this weekend's commencement--until the restriction was put in place.
"It put the idea in my head," he told the AP. "I wouldn't have thought of it until they said don't do it."
USF and Bryant administrators say they didn't intend to make a statement on the popular millennial habit of selfie-taking. They just don't want the ceremonies to be overly long due to selfies or other distractions.
"I don't have an anti-selfie bent," Michael Freeman, the USF dean of students, told the AP. "I would just caution students to think there's a time and place."
While USF and Bryant have asked students not to snap pictures of themselves onstage, Ripon College in Ripon, Wis., is actually encouraging the graduates to share as much as they like on social media. The school will not only allow students to take selfies onstage, but officials have also planned for a "selfie booth" and a designated hashtag for the ceremony.
"The college will not limit that kind of self-expression," Melissa Anderson, the school's executive director of marketing and communications, told the AP. "As a point of pride, we hope students take a lot of selfies."
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
