It was somewhere around 2010 when smartphones were released with a front-facing camera – that made the selfie go viral. Since then, we never looked back. Many of us are now addicted to clicking selfies, everyone from toddlers to elderly likes to take selfies with pouted lips and raised eye brows. And few of us, in the heat of that excitement and selfie moment, tend to ignore the potential hazards and dangers and start clicking selfies sometimes right next to a railway track or on the top of a skyscraper.
There might be various reasons for this particular behaviour such as getting fame, praise and recognition among friends and colleagues, narcissism, self-obsession or just adventure. In addition, while doing selfies, a great deal of attention is paid to the facial expressions, body language, demeanour leading to a lack of situational awareness and distraction that possibly explains the mishaps related to selfies.
Selfie related deaths are on the rise and India tops the charts in terms of these selfie related adverse events accounting for 40% of worldwide deaths while taking a self-portrait. Recently, Mumbai has declared 16 no-selfie zones across the city after a string of accidental deaths linked to “selfie fever”. Common injuries related to the selfie behaviour included falls, attacks from wild animals, electrocution, lightning strikes, trauma at sporting events, road traffic and pedestrian accidents.
Regardless of these numbers, we need to accept that selfies are an integral part of travel now a days. When people travel alone but with a smartphone equipped with a sophisticated camera, anyone would like to keep memories of the trip. However, I guess, we have gone too far with the advent of selfie sticks and specific courses that teach you about how to take selfies!
Selfie in Space: Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide takes a picture of himself during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station
Having mentioned the above information, what I want to highlight through this post is the recognition of this emerging problem and ways to combat it. Having situational awareness is extremely important, so before you click a selfie next time, pause for a few seconds, look around yourself and then make a move.
Take Home:
- Avoid taking selfies from a height, on a bridge, in the vicinity of vehicular traffic, during thunderstorms, at sporting events, and where wild animals are in the background.
- Travel medicine fellows should now routinely counsel travellers about responsible self-photography during international travel and should also include this advice in printed material given to the patient.
- Most importantly, each one of us needs to recognise this issue and behave in a responsible manner.
References:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_selfie-related_injuries_and_deaths
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/01/14/more-people-die-taking-selfies-in-india-than-anywhere-else-in-the-world/
- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/social/India-had-the-most-selfie-related-deaths-in-2015-Report/articleshow/50593587.cms
- The 'selfie' phenomenon: reducing the risk of harm while using smartphones during international travel Flaherty GT, Choi J. J. Travel Med. 2016; 23(2): e026.
- http://connecticut.marketing/2015/07/russian-selfie-guide-in-english/
Thanks for taking out the time to read and comment. I appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteThe only Indian from India on FOAM. Nice. Please post more
ReplyDeleteThanks Matt. I will keep them coming.
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