[ad_1]
The next time you're on the edge of a picturesque cliff or at the top of a waterfall, be careful before making a quick selfie. This could be the last thing you do.
According to a new study by researchers associated with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a group of public medical colleges based in New Delhi, more than 250 people have died taking selfies over the past six years years. The findings, which analyzed the news of the 259 deaths related to a selfie from October 2011 to November 2017, were published in the July-August issue of the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.
Of the 259 deaths, researchers found the main cause of drowning, followed by transportation-related incidents – for example, taking a selfie in front of an approaching train – and falling from heights. Animals, firearms and electrocution are other causes of self-related deaths.
"Selfies deaths have become a major public health problem," said Agam Bansal, lead author of the study, at the Washington Post.
[More people died taking selfies in India than anywhere in world, study says. Way more.]
Although the study found that India has the highest number of deaths in any country, many cases of fatal selfies have also been reported in Russia, the United States, and Pakistan. Bansal noted that while taking a selfie is not deadly, there are risks when people take risks trying to get the perfect photo.
"If you stand up, just take it with a celebrity or something, it's not dangerous," he said. "But if this selfie is accompanied by risky behavior, then that makes selfies dangerous."
Bansal added that he was also concerned about the number of deaths related to self-interference involving young people. More than 85 percent of the victims were between 10 and 30 years old, said Bansal.
"What worries me the most is that it is a cause of preventable death," he said. "Take a toll on these many numbers just because you want a perfect selfie, because you want a lot of likes, shares on Facebook, Twitter or other social media, I do not think it's worth it to to compromise a life for such a thing. "
Although the number of deaths reported in the study may seem high, Bansal said that there could be many more cases that simply have not been documented due to relationship issues.
In 2018 alone, several deaths related to selfies have already occurred. In May, a man in India attempted to take a selfie with a wounded bear and was mutilated to death, the Independent reported.
Last month, two people died in the United States in separate cases also involving selfies.
On September 5, an 18-year-old hiker from Jerusalem died after falling over 200 meters from a cliff in Yosemite National Park, according to ABC News. The man's mother said he was trying to take a selfie at the edge of the Nevada waterfall, a popular fall in the park when he fell, the Times of Israel reported.
About two weeks later, a 32-year-old Californian woman experienced a similar fate during a hike at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan, when she fell dead after stopping at the edge of a cliff. more than 200 feet the Detroit Free Press reported.
Mohit Jain, an orthopedic surgeon who did not participate in the recent study but did research into self-reported deaths, described the work of Banal and fellow researchers Chandan Garg and Abhijit Pakhare as "really necessary" to take a selfie. Jain released his own self-mortality study last year in the International Journal of Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion.
"Sometimes the eyes do not see if your mind does not know it," Jain told The Post.
Jain's research revealed that 75 people had died trying to take selfies in 2014 in mid-2016.
"It's like a man-made disaster," he said. "This is not a natural disaster."
One possible way to prevent deaths by selfies would be "the absence of areas for selfies," said Bansal, banning them in certain areas such as water bodies, mountain peaks and at top of tall buildings.
Efforts to discourage people from taking dangerous selfies have already been tried in several countries, including India, Russia and Indonesia.
Three years ago, Russia launched a campaign titled "Safe Selfie," entitled: "Even a million" I like "on social networks are not worth your life and your well-being," reported the BBC. An informative graphic containing icons depicting "bad selfie ideas" – highlighting stick figures posing on utility poles while holding guns – was also distributed, Jain said in his study.
In 2016, Mumbai declared 16 "no selfie" zones in the city as a result of a series of self-related deaths, the Guardian reported. Earlier this year, a national park in Indonesia announced that it would work to create a safe place for photos after the death of a hiker taking a selfie, according to the Jakarta Post.
[ad_2]Source link
