By Varini Chinnabhandar
*Hey, let’s click a selfie!*
Sound familiar? Of course.
A major case of obsession nowadays: the perfect selfie.
But although selfies may give you something to giggle about, something to talk about and even something to engage in, too much of a good thing is bad. Clicking selfies has gone beyond limits, and in a very dangerous way maybe. If the numbers of Washington Post are correct, then last year, half the deaths across the world that occurred due to front-camera obsession were in India.
Stay tuned to find incidents of pretty faces but empty brains.
A Boon or a Bane?
Call it a trend, a craze or whatever you like, but clicking selfies has definitely taken brains off their hinges. All over the world – though mostly in India – the rage is on. Social media is overflowing 24 hours with updates on everyone’s lives, thanks to these selfies.
Eat, click.
Sleep, click.
Poop, click.
Fly, click.
As fun as selfies may be, they are turning deadly. A psycho madness where people go to extremes and cross limits of sanity to satisfy some self-developed criteria for popularity level. All this for nothing but a few likes and tweets?
India, more than any other country in the world, had recorded 50% of the selfie deaths in 2015. Can you imagine dying like that? Surely, the last thing you did was smile, but that’s more morbid than happy…
We did some research and found the top 5 weirdest selfie deaths of 2015. And obviously, India covers three of them. Take a look…
Mumbai, November 2015: Finding no better place to click a selfie on his newly acquired phone than atop a train, Sahil the daredevil came in contact with a live wire. An electric shock of 25,000 volts coursing through his body, electrocuting him, left him dead in no time. Well, at least, he didn’t have to worry about no flash in the front camera!
Bandra, May 2015: What happens when a “beach selfie” meets a tidal wave? The girl dies. So unless you are a mermaid or a fish, please don’t be stupid. A little safer into the beach and a zoom would’ve worked just fine, you know?
Nagpur, March 2015: “Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream, don’t let it tip over with a silly team!” A group of seven boys were clicking selfies in the middle of the lake, when the weight of the teens on one side of the boat caused it to tip over, drowning all its occupants.
Spain, July 2014: You wouldn’t imagine going to the extent of taking a selfie with a horde of angry bulls behind you now, would you? Nah, don’t think so. But this sensible thought never occurred to the man’s brain who did just that: attempted a selfie while running from bulls, moments before he was killed. Why this glorious feat you ask? All for a self-proclaimed title of the ‘most dangerous selfie ever’.
The USA, January 2015: We’ve heard of Olympics, Paralympics but ever heard of selfie Olympics? That’s right, it does exist. Oscar Reyes attempted a selfie climbing on the door of a bathroom (seriously?) displaying his ‘olympic’ feat. Unfortunately, his balance gave way and Reyes succumbed to head injuries obtained by a fall from the door. That’s not the best way to die.
A little fun never hurt anyone, but this selfie trend that’s taken over the nation has gone beyond exaggeration. ED has one thing to say: Click, but click safe.
