The selfie emerged on the digital scene a few years ago, and combined with the social media frenzy, took the world by storm. The term became so popular that in 2013, Oxford dictionary announced it as the word of the year, and 2014 was named ‘year of the selfie’, by Google.
We all know how to take one. This is what it exactly means as defined by the Oxford Dictionary — a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.
As the selfie gained popularity, the race to take the most unique selfies also intensified. The trend has led people to choose bizarre locations, to serve as thrilling backgrounds, and range from the most spectacular to the most life threatening.
Tourist spots and heritage sites being flooded with selfie aficionados was fine, and so was the barrage of selfies on the social media. But now people are doing almost anything for a selfie, which includes hanging off a bridge, posing with a lion or even posing while pulling the pin of a grenade.
In one instance a Polish couple fell off a cliff, after crossing the safety barrier to take a selfie. Many others are mentioned in this list on Wikipedia . This year, Russia alone saw 10 selfie related deaths and 100 injuries, while in India Three college students died while taking a selfie on railway tracks.
Everyone from an average college goer to the Prime Minister of our country, seems to be on an eternal selfie clicking spree. World leaders like the Queen of Britain and the US President, have also given in to the temptation.
But it’s the number of deaths caused, due to people going to unimaginable lengths for capturing the most eye catching moment, which is unnerving. This has led to regulatory bodies globally launching campaigns opposing risky selfies. This year the Kumbh Mela has been declared as a no selfie zone.
With HH Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan & HE Dr. Anwar Gargash at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. #Selfie pic.twitter.com/rk33ZOlOuS
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 16, 2015 Experts have stated time and again that selfie obsession leads to a narcissistic state of mind, where the person doesn’t care about implications of their actions on others, or even themselves.
Mamata didi decided to challenge Modi in the selfie domain as well | Source: Firstpost
Does it cause inconvenience for other tourists? Does it flood social media? And the most important question, does it jeopardise your life? It’s all about posting selfies online and getting approval from others on one’s awesomeness. Sure, but one needn’t die in the process!
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