Our generation is obsessed with selfies. I am as well. It had been going on for quite a while before the front camera was abundant, but the moment you get a smart phone with a front camera, you do become a selfie addict of sorts. You take selfies of yourself, and you take group selfies with a bunch of people in it (also known as groupie). From my months of selfie experience, I've come to a set of norms you should maintain while taking selfies.

1. Manage to get everyone in the picture. Don't just focus on yourself, and don't even intentionally leave out the people you dislike. Just don't. If you are the selfie-taker, it is your responsibility to accommodate everybody in the screen. Take multiple shots if needed. If your hands aren't long enough, ask someone else to do the honour. Otherwise, get a selfie stick.

2. If you are taking a selfie with two or three people but there are more of your pals around, don't forget to invite them to join in. Otherwise, take separate selfies with them. In any case, do ensure that nobody feels left out; we don't want anybody going home with a heavy heart, do we?

3. One recurring problem of the countless selfies we take with people is that the pictures get lost in the bottomless abyss of your phone's gallery. As a selfie maestro, your job is to upload the pictures promptly and tag your friends, unless they don't want to be tagged.  Believe me, otherwise you'll be subject to much nagging, and in some cases, said friends may even stop talking to you. 

4. The above example of friends disowning you also stands true for when you upload only the selfies where you look good. Nobody wants to look bad in pictures. So, you can't just upload a bad picture of your friend and get away with it, even if you are looking at your best. Crop yourself and upload separately if need be, but don't be that narcissistic selfie-addict who cares not about others.  

5. Develop a sense of time and space of taking a selfie. Needless to say, funerals or hospitals aren't the best location for selfies. Neither are overnight jail cells, if you ever get arrested. Add exam halls to that list, but hey, who am I to judge if your invigilator is cool with that? Similarly, you can't just break up with your not-so-better half, and attempt to take a selfie while they are crying. That is highly unethical and might be injurious to your health. 

6. In a selfie featuring you alone, you are allowed to go berserk, so long as you maintain ample decency, as it goes up on Facebook. Oh, and #putting #hashtag #in #every #word #is #just #annoying, and won't really get you all the likes you are fishing for. It's best if you don't flood everyone's newsfeed with a bunch of hashtags that don't make sense. Use your hashtags smartly, efficiently and sparingly. 

In order to ace the art of selfies, you need practice. But to become a maestro loved by all, you need to follow the rules. Keep clicking, y'all! 

Arman R. Khan is an engineer, a caffeine addict, a dreamer and a culture enthusiast who takes life one day at a time. Correspond with him at fb.com/arman.r.khan or tweet @ArmanRK