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“Selfie”, taking a picture of yourself to post on social media, became an official word in the Oxford dictionary in 2013. The idea seems simple, just pose and snap a photo of yourself with your cell phone camera. How difficult could that be?
But in 2014, reports came of people dying while taking selfies. Since then the number of reported deaths due to selfies has risen each year for a total of 127 reported selfie deaths:
- 2014 – 15 deaths
- 2015 – 39 deaths
- 2016 (through September) – 73 deaths
In 2015, more people died from taking selfies than from shark attacks, according to The Telegraph. A Wikipedia page lists reports of selfie deaths.
The first study of deaths by selfie has recently been released, analyzing the ways people die and the common characteristics of the deaths. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, Indraprastha institute of Information Technology and National Institute of Technology examined the trend of people taking risks to capture images of themselves in dangerous situations.
Their study shows disturbing trends of people who are killing themselves and others while trying to get more likes and shares on social media.
In studying deaths by selfie, the researchers found that people who take selfies for sharing on social media tend to have narcissistic tendencies and “use selfies as a form of self-identification and expression.” Selfie-takers often view the number of likes and shares of their selfies as social currency and try to get more attention by posing in dangerous situations.
[note]Note that a study released this month showed that selfie-takers aren’t necessarily narcissists. See, Phys.org Most selfie takers aren’t narcissists, study says [/note]
These dangerous selfies can lead to death and injury, both of the selfie-taker and others. The researchers define a selfie death as “a death of an individual or a group of people that could have been avoided had the individual(s) not been taking a selfie.”
An example of a dangerous selfie in the study was one of spectators at cycling races who stand on the race course trying to get a selfie with the cyclists behind them, causing crashes and injuries. Another example was of people standing on train tracks trying to get a selfie as a train approaches.
The study of the selfie deaths looked at the causes of death, the countries in which the selfie deaths occurred, and the gender and age of the selfie-takers. The study also examined how many people died during each incident.
The most common cause of selfie death was height, with selfie-takers trying to get a photo of themselves at a high altitude, then losing their balance and falling. 32 of the 172 reported selfie deaths were due to height.
Water was also a risk factor, with people falling into water and drowning while taking a selfie. 27 of the deaths were due to water. Water and height combined was a frequent cause of death with 27 deaths reported due to the combined dangers of people falling into the water from a height while taking selfies.
Other risk factors included transportation, such as taking a selfie while driving or on train tracks; electricity, taking a selfie near live wires; weapons and animals, where animals attacked the selfie-takers.
Of the countries reporting selfie-deaths, India was the riskiest place with 76 out of the 127 selfie deaths taking place there.
Although women take more selfies than men, 75.5% of the reported selfie deaths were male.
61 of the 172 reported selfie deaths had a single casualty while 24 involved the deaths of multiple people. Two of the incidents killed seven people.
In this video a person was nearly killed while trying to take a selfie as a volcano erupted:
Staying Safe
With deaths by selfie on the rise, organizations have started movements to help people realize the dangers of taking selfies. According to the study, 16 places in Mumbai, India have been designated as “No Selfie Zones.”
The Russian government has started a “Safe Selfies” campaign to warn people of the dangers of taking risky selfies.
The website Selfie to Die For asks visitors to take a pledge not to risk their lives and the lives of others while taking selfies. The website also has tips for staying safe while taking selfies and gives examples of people who died from taking risky selfies.
The Twitter account @selfietodiefor offers tips for staying safe while taking selfies and reports incidents of selfie deaths and injuries.
Love taking #selfies at heights? It could leave you devastated.
Visit https://t.co/qV7GgFaE8F to know why we say that.#SelfieDeath #Selfie pic.twitter.com/xVA51yRYTQ— Selfie to die for (@selfietodiefor) October 8, 2016
More Information
The full report is available at: Me, Myself and My Killfie: Characterizing and Preventing Selfie Deaths.
Your Thoughts
Do you know anyone who has risked their lives trying to take a selfie? Do you try to stay safe when taking selfies? What do you think should be done to help people stay safe while taking selfies?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
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* Selfie Hoodie image (edited) courtesy of Tom Sodoge via Unsplash and Creative Commons
**Selfie by the Water image courtesy of Minchioletta via Flickr and Creative Commons
***Stay Safe with Selfies image courtesy of Leo Reynolds via Flickr and Creative Commons
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Hi Carolyn,
Interesting topic of discussion 🙂
I say this because we had also written a post on selfies, if you remember, on Aha!NOW and there was a lot of engagement about it all over. I guess people could relate to it, as it’s the trending thing, especially with youngsters!
Honestly speaking, I am not much of a selfie fan, but my kids are, and I am sure every teenager goes through the selfie phase too. Taking selfies is alright, as long as you are careful about how you take them – the newspapers are full of incidents where people have lost their lives, just taking selfies. Just today, I read about two boys who died taking selfies, and yes, that happened at a lake. Some other incidents happen in the trains and on top of buildings etc. I wish they’d be more careful.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
PS – If I may, just adding the link to the selfie post, as I feel it would help other selfie addicts as it has a few tips to help them! (www.aha-now.com/taking-selfies-go-wrong/)
Hey Carolyn,
You have brought an interesting topic which should be discussed. People are obsessed with the selfies.
Many people have lost their lives just because they wanted to be famous.
I hear the news all the time.
I like how Russia is taking a step further.
Thanks for sharing with us.
~Ravi
Hi Ravi, Yes, people may get famous for selfies, but they may not be around long enough to enjoy the fame. Risking lives for selfies certainly doesn’t seem worthwhile but often people don’t realize the danger.
Russia is leading the way in helping to raise awareness of the dangers of taking selfies. Let’s hope their efforts are successful.
Hi Carolyn,
This is disconcerting, to say the least! It makes me think of the pokemon go phenomenon that also caused deaths by distraction. Technology does come with its share of challenges and demands to adjust.
Thanks for sharing this information! Going to be careful the next time I take a selfie!
Lori
Hi Lori, Excellent point. Yes, tech can take over our brains, sometimes eliminating common sense. I like your analogy to Pokemon Go. Texting while driving is another way people get consumed by technology, ignoring the world around them.
With all tech we should be aware of our surroundings. No selfie is worth our lives.
My wife is encouraging to take more; of course, I’m worth twice as much dead as I am alive…..doh…..:).
I’ve tried a selfie a time or two; one, either my arms are too short, or two, this old dude keeps showing up and ruining the shot. Sheeeesh……whadda going to do?
Hi Bill, Why does it not surprise me that you’re well insured? Be certain NOT to take selfies when you’re riding that mountain bike. No, that would not be a good idea.
Indeed you are right we are witnessing lot of incidents happenings due to selfies. In India we have seen so many deaths due to taking selfies from dangerous places.
I guess must spread awareness to stop taking selfies in such places.
Thanks
So true. You hear of people taking foolish risks just to get that selfie. It’s not worth it. On a personal note while I don’t take selfies, I like taking pictures with my camera. I always check my immediate area to see if there are spots I need to be careful (and I do have to be careful sometimes). I check to see how much I can move around before I fall off a stair, cliff, etc.
Hi Mike, It’s great to hear that you stay safe when taking photos. You’re very wise to be aware of your surroundings. No picture is worth risking your life!
Not only selfies are our lives, our life is more expensive and beautiful than a selfie.really nice article.
Hi Naveen, Excellent point. We may be trying to create art when we’re taking a selfie but we shouldn’t be risking our lives to do it.
Thank you, Carolyn, for this post. You are right about the life; it’s very precious than just a photo. I don’t know why people take their life at risk just to take a picture.
Hi Thomas, Yes, I was very surprised when I researched this article to discover just how many people have died by selfie. These deaths are unnecessary and could easily be prevented. We should always be aware of our surroundings and never risk our lives for a photo.
Hey Carolyn,
Great Selection of topic, needed to be discussed.
I don’t know why people are going crazy, just to take a selfie to get likes & comments, it is just not worth it.
I will not getting this, as I find it funny, but this is serious, I guess many of those who died while clicking selfies are teens, they needed to be told, that it is just not that important, they are risking their life for a thing, which will make no difference to their life, if they do or they do not. I hope they learn.
Anyways, Great work Carolyn.
~ Jenny
Hi Jenny, Yes, this is a serious issue and I hope no one else has to die or become injured just to take a picture of themselves. We really do need to be aware of our surroundings when we are shooting photos.