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In the last year, I have written dozens of stories for PetaPixel about various incidents where people have died (or almost died) while taking a selfie, photo, or video. It may sound like a lot, but it is only a handful of the fatalities that I could have reported on.
For example, in the last month, I passed on story about a footballer who tripped and plunged 300 feet to her death as she was filming a selfie at the top of a 25-storey tower block as well as a different incident where a man was savaged by a lion as he tried to take a photo with the animal.
I also opted not to write an article about the call for harsher prison sentences after a motorcyclist was killed by a driver who took a winking selfie.
However, while I may have chosen not to cover these particular incidents, I have covered a wide range of selfie or photography-related deaths and injuries for PetaPixel. In the last few months, I reported on a tourist who was swept to her death by a giant wave after filming herself doing yoga from rocks on a beach.
I covered a professional gymnast who plunged to her death while taking a selfie and an influencer who tripped over a wall and died while she was filming a video.
There was also the case of the two influencers who drowned after allegedly refusing to wear life jackets on a boat — fearing it would ruin their selfies.
Reports of injuries due to reckless selfie taking are perhaps even more common. In the last week, I reported on a woman who was dragged from a train while filming a selfie video after dangling out of a carriage window to get the perfect shot. There was also the story of a tourist, who attempted to take a selfie in front of a moving train and was brutally knocked to the ground by the oncoming locomotive.
In fact, it feels like most days when I open my laptop to find news stories, I have that all-too-familiar feeling of “oh no, not again” — there’s another report about an individual dying or getting hurt in pursuit of the perfect selfie, photo, or video.
Every time I see another case of “Death by Selfie,” I am faced with the same questions. Do I really need to write about another person killing themselves to nail that perfect photograph? Do our readers really need to hear about this? Is this really relevant and important? I’m not the only one asking this question, as PetaPixel readers post comments and write emails to editorial asking the same thing.
And actually, I think continued reporting is important. In fact, it’s never been more relevant or important or necessary to report on these tragic cases.
I don’t just see the risks people take in the name of a photograph in the stories plastered across the news but also in my day-to-day life, too.
Recently, I went on holiday for a wedding in Turkey. In the span of a few days, I saw a waiter nearly fall over the edge of a balcony trying to take a wide group shot and a tourist lean precariously over a metal railing of a cliff in a bid to take a flattering selfie. I also witnessed my mum almost take a huge tumble as she attempted to film the best man’s speech and failed to notice the flight of stairs next to her. She only emerged unscathed because another guest managed to catch her.
It seems like a lot of people today are, both literally and figuratively, risking it all to capture that ideal shot.
As Slate points out, selfie-related fatalities are not the domain of “one or two risk-takers, airheads, or vain teenagers” either. Instead, they affect tourists and locals of all ages and genders across the world, so much so that a recent study said selfie-related deaths have become a “public health issue” that urgently needs more research, education, and awareness.
“It’s a problem that isn’t going anywhere,” the study’s lead author Sam Cornell says.
And the number of selfie-related deaths is likely highly under-reported, too. No modern coroner would typically list the cause of death as “selfie” but maybe it’s time they did.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
English (US) ·