Dying to get the shot – over 250 dead, and counting..
Of all the ways to shuffle off this mortal coil, dying while in the midst of taking a selfie definitely seems like one of the more pointless ways to go, yet more people are dying than ever before. And all to get that “perfect shot” to share on Instagram.
A recent global study, published in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care by US National Library of Medicine collated worldwide reports of selfie deaths between 2011 and 2017, revealed that 259 people died while attempting selfies during the period. It also revealed that selfie-related deaths are most common in India (159 deaths), Russia (16 deaths), the United States (14 deaths), and Pakistan. Almost 73% of the victims were men. Falling, drowning, and transport accidents were the most common causes, but also high on the list as causes of death included electrocution, animal attacks, guns, and fire.
In July 2018, 19-year-old Gavin Zimmerman fell to his death when he slipped while taking photos at Cape Solander in Kurnell, NSW. While in September, an Iraeli teenager, Tomer Frankfurter (18) died in California's Yosemite National Park after falling 250 metres while trying to take a selfie.
The number of deaths related to selfies might actually be far higher as authorities don’t typically list “selfie” as a cause of death. The authors of the rerport went on to state: Although our study has enlisted the largest number of selfie deaths and incidents till date, this is just the tip of iceberg. Many cases are not reported. The limitation of our study was that we included news reports only in English language. Therefore, news reports in local language have been missed. There is no reporting of cases as selfie-related deaths in India. Thus, certain deaths due to selfies may be reported as road traffic accidents or others, which leads to underreporting of a large number of cases.
Check out this link and this link to get a sense of some of the truly senseless things people will do to help boost their Insta-fame.
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