Accidents from selfies taken in dangerous places or while doing dangerous acts continues to rise. For the last three years, more people have died from selfie accidents than from shark attacks. In the wilderness setting, most accidents occur from drowning and falls off cliffs or from climbing nearby rocks and structures.
In Germany, a 60-year-old man fell to his death when he took a break from skiing to take a picture at the top of a cliff. A 54-year-old woman also fell to her death in Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes National Park after climbing a rock. The age of these unfortunate victims points out, that contrary to popular belief, not all selfie-related accidents involve the youth.
Some selfie deaths in the wilderness are truly shocking, like the one in the Ural Mountains in Russia where two young men died after pulling the pin of a live grenade to pose for a picture. Or when seven young men in India drowned because their boat tipped when they all stood to take a selfie.
Selfies distract individuals from concentrating on safety and the surrounding hazards. The best action to reduce death or injury from selfie-taking is to refrain from taking selfies in dangerous places like near the edge of a cliff, while climbing, near or in a body of water, or anytime a situation demands your full attention to maintain the safety of yourself and others with you.
If you do absolutely have to take a selfie, look before you pose for any safety concerns in your immediate area. Stand away from the edge of any cliff edge, or clear of any overhanging ice or snow. Do not take a selfie at the edge of a swift river or body of water, especially if you do not know how to swim. And do not take a selfie while climbing unless you are securely anchored.
Most selfie-related deaths and injuries are entirely preventable. Taking a selfie in a dangerous surrounding ultimately does not impress others, but instead displays ignorance through the demonstration of blatant disregard to safety, even if it does not result in an accident. A few likes for a picture on your social media profile is not worth your life or the pain to those you love you dearly.
Click here to see a more complete list of selfie-related accidents.
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