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Taking selfies should be considered a “public health issue,” according to new research.
Academics in Australia analyzed scientific articles and media reports on injuries or deaths from selfies around the world since 2008.
They found that nearly 400 had been reported over the 13-year period of the study, including 77 in the US.
The victims were most likely tourists in their twenties, who fell and drowned while taking a photograph, the two leading causes of death.
The researchers said the public must be made aware of the risks posed by selfies – an estimated 92 million of them are taken each day worldwide – and urged social media apps to install software to warn people of the dangers when they go to take a selfie.
Andrea Norton, 20, was an environmental science major at Briar University and a member of the school’s volleyball team and symphony choir. She died in 2019 while taking a selfie at a popular beauty spot in an Arkansas national park.
Sofia Cheung, an Instagram star, is shown above in her latest Instagram post. She died in 2021 after losing her balance and slipping on a waterfall
A 23-year-old American tourist fell to Mount Vesuvius, Italy, while taking a selfie and dropped his cell phone into the volcano in 2022
Dr. Samuel Cornell, a risk expert at the University of New South Wales, Australia, and others wrote in the article: “The phenomenon of selfie-related incidents should be viewed as a public health problem that requires a public health response.” public health”.
“To date, little attention has been paid to preventing selfie-related incidents through behavior change methodologies or direct messaging to users through apps.
‘Although previous research has recommended “no-selfie zones”, barriers and signage as ways to prevent selfie incidents, our results suggest that this may not be enough.
“It may be prudent to also send direct safety messages to social media users.”
twenty years student andrea norton sank 100 feet to his death off a cliff in Arkansas after slipping while taking a selfie in 2019.
I was at Hawksbill Crag in the Ozark National Forest, which is a popular photo spot for hikers.
In her obituary, her family said: ‘Andrea developed a genuine love for the planet and was dedicated to making a great impact on its preservation. She never lost her boisterous focus on achieving her goals.’
In January 2022, a 21-year-old hiker also fell to his death after slipping while taking a selfie on a mountaintop in Arizona.
Richard Jacobson’s body was found on a trail about 700 feet from where he fell.
Another victim is Instagram star Sofia Cheung, who died in 2021 after losing her balance while taking a selfie at a waterfall in Hong Kong.
The 32-year-old man, who had 35,000 followers on Instagram, fell into the waterfall pool. She was rushed to the hospital but was later pronounced dead.
Richard Jacobson, 21, died after falling from a mountaintop last year. His friend told Dailymail.com that Jacobson “got along well with everyone” and “treated everyone with respect.”
There have also been a number of near misses.
Earlier this year, a 42-year-old cruise passenger in Florida was said to be lucky to be alive after falling 10 stories from a ship’s railing while posing for a selfie.
And in July last year, a 23-year-old American tourist survived after falling into the crater of an active volcano in Italy while trying to capture photos for social media.
Authorities in some countries have had to issue warnings about selfies, including the UK, where earlier this year the coastguard warned people not to take selfies in storm waves after a woman was photographed being swept away while posed in front of a storm surge.
For the article, the researchers searched for studies that included the terms “selfie” and “death, fall, injury, fatal, drowning or accident” published in the United States or Australia.
They also searched online for news articles about selfie-related deaths or injuries in any of the countries dating back to 2011.
Their search revealed five scientific studies and 12 news articles that were included in their analysis.
Reports from each were then compiled to establish the leading causes of death from selfies.
The newspaper data also showed that injuries or deaths from selfies had increased over time, with three deaths reported in 2013 compared to 68 in 2019.
There was then a brief lull in 2020, due to the Covid pandemic, with 37 deaths before numbers rose again with 31 deaths reported in the first half of 2021 alone.
Investigators found that the average age of the victims was 22 years old.
Geographically, the study suggested that India was the country with the most reported selfie deaths and injuries (100 deaths), followed by the United States (39 cases) and Russia (33 cases).