Confused

Another mental ramble.
Let me start this by saying that I LOVE photos of family and friends and I treasure photos that include me with them. I understand the sentiment and the dynamic.
I get the joy of a portrait photo to family.
I understand taking a million photos of kids and pets.
And I understand that you often need a photo of yourself for certain things including just to be fun.
What I am struggling to understand is the trend of a gazillion selfies.
Isn't it more interesting to take photos of what you see than what other people see when they look at you?
Capturing the Grand Canyon (for example) in all its glory is what you remember seeing when you look at the photos- you don't recall seeing yourself at the Grand Canyon because you obviously didn't see yourself there. If you see a photo that you took, won't you recall that you were there?
Why do people take sooooo many selfies?
Is the focus of the photos, the intent of the photos different?
I'm so confused...really.