A selfie every day

Alex Mattu is from Bath, U.K. Like many British teenagers, he loves taking selfies. In fact, Alex has
taken a selfie on his smartphone every day for five years! Why? We spoke to him to find out.

Photography has been my passion since I was about nine. My first camera wasn’t a digital camera, so
I didn’t connect to the computer. I had to print my photos at a camera shop. I took pictures of
everything – our garden, our cat, my friends and my brother Michael.
On my 11th birthday, my parents gave me my first laptop. It had a webcam and I decided to take a
photo of me and my family to send to my grandparents in India. We all looked really silly and I
thought it was hilarious. That was my first “selfie”…and I was hooked!
My first selfies weren’t very exciting. They were just me in front of my laptop. I took the photos in
the morning, so I don’t always look very happy. But everything changed when I got a smartphone for
my 14th birthday. I started to take selfies everywhere and at different times of the day. It was so
easy! I've taken thousands of selfies since my 14 th birthday. I’m alone in most of them, but I’ve
taken some with friends, family, and even famous people. I’m always careful when I look at the
pictures. I don’t want to delete any by accident.
I celebrated my 19th birthday last month and I decided to upload all my pictures to my blog. I was
really excited to share the project with other people. When I look at the photos, I can see how
much I’ve changed. My hair and my face look so different!
People love the photos and I’ve already had lots of positive comments. Thanks to social media, I’ve
also met other people who have selfies projects like mine. Renee Tomek, a woman from France, has
taken a selfie every day for ten years. She’s just made an awesome YouTube video of her photos.
I’ve already taken over 3,000 selfies and I haven’t missed a single day. I hope to continue my
project for the rest of my life.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS IN FULL SENTENCES.

Do you like taking selfies? Why?/
Why not?
How many photos have you taken
this week?
Do you have a laptop/ smartphone?
How long have you had it?
1 How long has Alex loved taking photos?
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2 When did Alex get his smartphone?
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3 How did Alex take selfies before he had a smartphone?
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4 Why didn’t Alex look very happy in some of his early selfies?
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5 Who can you see in some of Alex’s selfies?
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6 What does he say about his hair and face?
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7 What has Renee Tomek done with the selfies she has taken?
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8 How many selfies has Alex taken so far?
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