Death by selfie is so common it is now tracked statistically in Australia and other countries around the world.
While we have covered these tragedies in the past, it seems like the trend isn’t really reversing and, in fact, might be as common now as it was then or even getting worse. Of course, there is a general safety debate around this topic (that is, people advocate using precaution no matter what kind of photograph you are taking – selfie or not). Still, there is also the debate about what public venues should do to prevent or stop this kind of thing altogether. As we have covered here, parks and other places with treacherous-yet-picturesque attractions have shuttered entirely after one-too-many accidents there involving selfies.
Quantifying it all, however, really helps put it into perspective when we talk about prevention and education. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 3,747 people died while taking a selfie with 20 of those being plunges off of a cliff, PetaPixel reports. Those numbers are pretty staggering, especially when you consider the quoted Herald Sun also informs us that is the highest number of deaths by falling off a cliff ever recorded since the Australian Bureau of Statistics started tracking such things in 2012.
And Australia isn’t even the number one spot for this kind of thing, PetaPixel tells us, with India being the number one for deaths by selfie followed by the United States (Australia comes in at fifth). While theories abound as to what is pushing this trend, one of the biggest (and most popular) arguments centers the need for likes and attention as culprit number one. Phrases like “doing it for the ‘gram” and the drive for views and likes on platforms like TikTok incentivize risky, outrageous, and bizarre behavior, not all of which is safe.
As we have stressed in the past, be careful out there, no matter what kind of photograph you are taking.
Check out some of our other photography news at this link.
