Be careful what you are doing when you take a selfie!
In the not really that surprising at all if you think about it category, we have news today that selfies result in more deaths on an annual basis than shark attacks.
According to unofficial statistics, at least twelve recorded deaths from selfies have occurred so far in 2015. That compares to a mere eight people being killed in shark attacks through the first nine and a half months of the year.
A brief analysis of the data shows that a solid majority of selfie-related deaths in 2015 are connected to accidents involving falls. The second most common cause of death from selfies is when people are hit by a moving vehicle when they wander out into the road foolishly trying to take a selfie.
Many deaths from selfies
The Wikipedia list of deaths from selfies includes 19 separate incidents since 2014.
The vast majority of the people involved in selfie deaths were between the ages of 18 and 22 years old. The types of accidents listed in WIkipedia range from electrocution while climbing onto a train to a pilot crashing a light aircraft, killing himself and a passenger, and almost a dozen cases of people dying while posing for selfies with guns.
Also of interest, one man apparently came very close to having to have his hand amputated after posing for a selfie with a rattlesnake.
New “safe selfie” campaigns cropping up
In a sign of the times, selfie deaths have become such a problem in Russia that the Russian government has published a guide on how to avoid dying when taking a picture of yourself.
The Russian guide suggests that selfie takers avoid balancing on dangerous surfaces or posing with loaded weapons and especially to avoid taking selfies when you are operating a vehicle.
Of note, Yellowstone National Park has also been experiencing problems with people getting hurt taking selfies. The park recently put out a warning about taking selfies with bison after five people were gored in attempting this amazingly stupid stunt.
