In October last year, three students were run over by a train while they were taking selfies on the tracks near an amusement park on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
Days before that, a 17-year-old NCC cadet died while he and his friends were taking pictures in a temple pond at Ramagondlu Betta in Kanakapura. In another case, a 30-year-old was trampled by an elephant at Bannerghatta Biological Park after he and his friends sneaked inside to take pictures with the animal.
These are just a few examples of the selfie deaths reported in the country. A recent study published in the July-August edition of the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care has found that 259 selfie deaths occurred worldwide in 137 incidents from October 2011 to November 2017. Of these, 159 were reported from India. This was the highest, followed by Russia, the United States, and Pakistan. Of the 259 casualties, 72.5% were male, and more than 85% of the victims were aged between 10 and 30, the study said.
A team of researchers, led by Agam Bansal from the Department of Community and Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, analysed news reports of selfie deaths reported in newspapers the world over. They found the leading cause to be drowning, followed by transportation — for example, taking a selfie in front of an oncoming train — and falling from heights. Other causes included animals, firearms and electrocution, according to the study.
Risky behaviour
The researchers, who also classified reasons for the deaths due to selfie as risky behaviour or non-risky behaviour, found that risky behaviour caused more deaths. The number of deaths among females was less on account of risky behaviour than non-risky behaviour, while it was approximately three times the opposite ratio among males, the study found.
“Selfie deaths have become an emerging public health problem, especially in India. Clicking selfies and sharing them on social media has become a mode of self-expression, and this is worrying,” Dr. Bansal told The Hindu .
There was an exponential increase in the number of selfie deaths from 2014–2015 to 2016–2017. From three selfie-related deaths reported in 2011, the number increased to 93 in 2017. While two were reported in 2013, 13 were reported in 2014, 50 in 2015, 98 in 2016, and 93 in 2017.
“This is because of increased usage of mobile phones, enhanced selfie features on phones, increased availability of selfie sticks, and also the promotion of the phenomenon of selfies through events like ‘best selfie prize’. Usually, youth and tourists are frequently affected by the desire of being cool, posting photos on social media, and getting rewards in the form of likes and comments,” Dr. Bansal said.
“While the simple act of taking a selfie is not dangerous, the problem is when people take risks by posing in dangerous settings while trying to get that perfect shot. The actual numbers could be more than what we found as many selfie deaths may have gone unreported,” he said.
He said individuals need to be educated regarding certain risky behaviour and risky places where selfies should not be taken. ‘No selfie zone’ areas should be declared across many tourist areas, specially places such as waterbodies, mountain peaks, and tall buildings, he added.
Manoj Kumar Sharma, additional professor, SHUT (Service for Healthy use of Technology) clinic, said: “Although selfie-clicking has not become a medical condition yet, if the trend continues we are not far from seeing selfie obsession as a medical problem. So it is extremely important to create awareness among people and mitigate the problem.”
Dr. Sharma, who treated two young adults for selfie addiction at SHUT clinic earlier this year, said: “According to the American Psychiatric Association, clicking more than five selfies a day is a concern. Such people need help.”
