MacBook Selfie Sticks are a state-of-the-art invention

After being "mocked, dubbed 'the wand of Narcissus' and generally cited in descriptions of the downfall of society", according to City AM, a new selfie stick has taken self-photography to another level – at least on the face of it.

The MacBook Selfie Stick is exactly what it says - a pole onto which users can mount a full-sized Apple laptop for all their self-snapping needs. It's a hefty item, much larger and more rugged than any standard selfie stick to make up for the laptop's weight, although that means it needs to be held with two hands, so removing some of the convenience of such a device in the first place.

Indeed, it's a classic case of Chindogu – a Japanese word meaning inventions and items that solve a particular problem only to create new ones or result in significant social embarrassment.

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Thankfully, that is not a problem most people will have to deal with – the MacBook Selfie Stick is not a real item but an art project created by a photography collective in New York.

"The oversized selfie sticks seem to be making the point that perhaps the technology that serves our obsession with selfies should be as outsized as our egos", says Cult of Mac.

Some of the photographs published by the artists on the stick's website show bewildered bystanders wearing "quizzical expressions". One particular image, showing a young woman using the stick under a billboard reading: "Why?", captures the essence of the project perfectly.

According to Mashable, the artists "intentionally make themselves stick out by looking absolutely ridiculous, expanding the size of their own selfie game, acting as a sort of magnifying glass turned toward standard selfie culture".

"Is it effective?" it asks. "Who knows."