5 Urgent Measures to Prevent Selfie Accidents
Every time I come across news stories about the chaos and selfie accidents caused by these selfie-crazed individuals, I can’t help but shake my head in a mix of disgust and disbelief. It’s as if this selfie mania is spreading like an unstoppable virus, infecting the minds of people everywhere.
I reflect upon the fact that just last year, incidents like these selfie-related deaths weren’t as frequent. But now, as I browse through news headlines, the numbers of death by selfie seem to be spiraling out of control. It’s disheartening to see that no matter what happens, no lessons seem to be learned. The message just isn’t sinking in.
What truly leaves me numb is the realization that a majority of these selfie accidents occur in popular tourist destinations. Places that are meant to be enjoyed, admired, and captured in photographs as a testament to their beauty. I can’t help but wonder, how did we reach a point where taking a selfie becomes more important than personal safety?
On some level, I understand the desire to capture a perfect image of oneself against a stunning backdrop. It’s a way of preserving a memory, freezing a moment in time. But when that innocent act turns into something that causes damage, injury, or even death, how can we possibly justify it?
I ask myself, how far are we willing to go for that one perfect shot? Are we so blinded by the pursuit of likes, comments, and social media validation that we disregard the potential consequences of our actions?
It’s a harsh reality to accept, but the truth is that some individuals are willing to risk it all for a fleeting moment of online recognition. They throw caution to the wind, ignoring warning signs, disregarding safety barriers, all in the name of capturing an audacious selfie.
We must pause, take a step back, and reevaluate the selfies gone wrong, our priorities. Let’s remind ourselves that the purpose of a selfie is not to cause harm or tragedy. It’s about preserving cherished memories, celebrating life, and connecting with others.
I was stumped by this selfie crazy couple who parked their vintage jeep on a railway track to take train selfie. Seeing the train approaching them they tried starting the vehicle but the old machine refused to budge. Good sense prevailed; they abandoned their vehicle and stood watching their vintage glory shatter to pieces. This happened in Ramanagaram, close to Bangalore.
Selfie Gone Wrong in Lisbon
What propelled me into writing this post was the news of this young man of 24, who climbed on to a pedestal for a selfie with the statue of the King. Quite a clumsy indisciplined dimwitted chap he must be, for the 126 year old statue crashed to ground, shattered to pieces. I have seen the statue during my recent trip to Lisbon. It was placed centrally between two ornate arches at the entrance to Rossio railway station in central Lisbon.
The statue was of Dom Sebastian. He is known as the child king, a young leader, he ruled Portugal from 1557 – 1578 after taking the throne at the age of three following the deaths of his father and grandfather. He died at the Battle of Alcacer Quibir when he was just 24, after his army was defeated by 60,000 soldiers amassed as a response to his invasion of Morocco. The statue has been positioned there since June 1890.
The incident is reported as ‘he accidentally toppled the statue’; what is accidental in this when the act of climbing up the pedestal was intentional? The King didn’t come down to get his selfie taken; it is this guy who went up. Will tourists ever tire of this ridiculous craze? Can I request the officials there to dress him up as the king and make him stand there as punishment?
This incident will seem less serious if you compare it to what happened to a baby dolphin caught by a group of selfie crazy tourists in a beach in Argentina. The little thing succumbed, it couldn’t remain out of water long enough to satisfy the cravings of selfie crazy, social media crazy tourists. I strongly feel capturing moments like this for virtual enjoyment should be banned.
Leading Leaders Taking Selfies
It’s a baffling phenomenon, isn’t it? In today’s world, the craze for selfies has taken the human race by storm. From the highest echelons of power, where you have figures like Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to the average person on the street, it seems like almost everyone is caught up in this self-obsessed trend.
Now, don’t get me wrong—I’ll admit that I’ve taken a selfie or two, myself. There’s nothing inherently wrong with capturing a moment and preserving it as a memory. After all, photos have always served as tangible reminders of cherished times, allowing us to relive those experiences whenever we glance at them.
However, what troubles me is when this innocent act of self-expression turns into something dangerous, even life-threatening. It’s disheartening to hear stories of selfie related deaths, of people risking their lives, their well-being, and the safety of others, all in the name of capturing the perfect self-portrait.
The concept of self-control and self-discipline seems to be fading in the wake of this rampant obsession for deadly selfie. In a world where it’s increasingly “me, me, me” all the time, it’s crucial that we take a step back and reflect on the consequences of our actions.
Photos should be a way to freeze a moment in time, not to endanger our lives or the lives of those around us. We must learn to strike a balance between living in the moment and preserving those moments through photography.
Selfie Accidents in India
In India the statistics of selfie deaths per year is worrisome. Here too selfie crazy, fame hungry people give up their life while trying to achieve their moment of glory. How else can you explain
- the action of the boy who wanted selfie with a fast approaching train or
- that of a boy with loaded revolver pointing towards his head or
- the young girls posing on the rocks of seashore of Bandra, Mumbai?
Selfies that ended in death: A Japanese tourist dies taking selfie in Taj Mahal! A young girl lost her life in Seville Spain while posing precariously on a bridge.
The list of tragic selfies are increasing and precautions need to be taken to prevent more such incidents.
5 Urgent Measures to Prevent Selfie Accidents
Here are some measures that can stop the selfie related accidents. You can suggest some more to add to this.
- No Selfie Zone and Selfie Zone to be specified clearly in public places and tourist locations. Mumbai, India, recently declared 16 “no-selfie” zones across the city. Authorities have warned that those who take selfies in risky areas would be fined.
- Ban all selfie related photography contests. Government can do well to ban selfie related contests or force organizers to take permission to conduct such contests.
- Warning to be mentioned in tickets that selfie related damages can cause imprisonment and fine.
- Employ people who can take pictures of tourists.
- Facebook and other social media sites should introduce “DISLIKE” button for dangerous selfie images to prevent selfie accidents.
Shrinidhi suggests: Selfie sticks also need to be banned. They are already banned in many places as I have noted.
Bizarre Selfie Incident
(update: Chhattisgarh official drains reservoir to find cellphone he dropped during selfie.)
In a bizarre incident, an employee of the Chhattisgarh government reportedly drained a staggering 41 lakh litres of water from a reservoir in Kanker district in an attempt to recover his expensive phone.
Rajesh Vishwas, a food inspector stationed in the Pakhanjore area of the district, visited the Paralkot reservoir on May 21 for a leisure outing with his friends.
Unfortunately, during their time there, Vishwas accidentally dropped his mobile phone while taking selfie, valued at around Rs 1 lakh, into a waste weir—a channel designed to carry away surplus water.
In his quest to retrieve his phone, Vishwas allegedly enlisted the help of local villagers and operated diesel pumps continuously for three days, leading to the draining of 41 lakh litres of water from the reservoir. As a consequence of this excessive water wastage, the employee was suspended over the weekend.
Conclusion
We can contribute a lot towards preventing selfie accidents. Let’s remind ourselves that life is not just about documenting our every move for the sake of validation or attention. It’s about embracing the world around us, connecting with others, and appreciating the beauty of existence.
So, the next time we reach for our phones to snap a selfie, let’s pause for a moment and consider the importance of self-control and self-discipline. Let’s prioritize safety, respect, and the well-being of ourselves and others. In doing so, we can reclaim the true purpose of photos—to capture and cherish the memories that make life truly meaningful.
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This is a really good post with valuable advice.I really don’t like selfies.One reason is that it gives ugly faces if you don’t click properly.When we can capture a beautiful moment with beautiful view and background,why we go for a selfie?
These days Sri Lanka is under severe flood threat.Most Sri Lankans help each other and lot of volunteer works are going on.Facebook is full of such news and among those there are few who enjoy taking selfies in flood and share in facebook!They risk their lives and also disrespect others who struggle with flood and trying to volunteer….
Hi Amila, you are so right about the obsession for selfies. I too saw the pic of a woman taking selfie in the flooded waters of Sri Lanka. It was published in papers here.
I second what Roger said, I hope the idiot who shattered the statue is made to pay for another one to be commissioned.
Most interesting post,
best wishes,
Di.
ABCW team
The selfie tragedies you described are scary. I don’t see a problem with an occasional selfie, but I believe some young ones are addicted to it. Blessings!
the whole SELFIE culture I find distressing.
ROG, ABCW
I have seen so many stupid actions by people taking selfies.
I have taken a few of my Hubby and I but never at a danger to us or others.
Great post today.
Wow… what a entry for this weeks letter…. not what i expected….
To be honest, i hadn’t heard before of these happenings… but indeed they are appaling!!
Have a nice ABC-Wednes-day / – week
♫ M e l ☺ d y ♫ (abc-w-team)
I like your idea of employing people to take photos. But then again, in some countries, we will probably have con men posing at photographers and taking off with your camera. Luckily I am not a big selfie fan and I prefer being behind the camera and taking candid shots of my kids.
Great advice here! I can’t imagine how one can be so careless just to take a selfie.
I am very much against selfies when we are on the road, while sitting at a safe place it is still ok…there have been so many nasty incidents I’ve heard of!
No selfie zone is a good initiative.
Good post. You could use this for S in ABC on Wednesday. I shall never take selfies.
Wil, ABCW Teamc
Truly Nice write up !
I hope this guy is fined for what he did. I do not want to think no repercussion are going to be taken against him. I have read stories of people who have died taking a selfie (a couple fell of a cliff in Portugal). People are going too far to “wow” on their social media channels.
Not yet for me. I still dont understand how the photo will look better with my face in it too.
You just can’t help but shake your heads. People completely abandon common sense it seems. Great article.
I was thinking that “selfie crazy people are in India only who does not care for his life for a selfie but it is also in Lisbon ? No Selfie Zone and Selfie Zone to be specified clearly in public places and tourist locations. Mumbai, India, recently declared 16 “no-selfie” zones across the city. Authorities have warned that those who take selfies in risky areas would be fined. nice initiative .
Quiet a valid concern you have raised here Indrani. Such a tragic end for Dom Sebastian statue that too by the carelessness of a person. While we cant stop people from taking pics, but can we ourselves ensure that if we see any one doing any harm to heritage properties or nature for that matter, for his own pleasure of a selfie/pic must be deterred from doing so.
I completely agree with you, people behave in a crazy way for selfies. I was in Nainital a year back and this guy was standing on a narrow wall, taking selfies, the other side of the wall was a steep valley and it was much slippery.
I completely agree with you … selfie are sometimes dangerous too, there have been so many fatal incidents 🙁
This is appalling…had read the report of that bizarre incident where the selfie-obsessed nut had crashed the statue. It is really disheartening to know the figures are going northwards for such mishaps. Indrani, very responsible blogging on your part in pointing out this menace gripping people who are oblivious of the treasures they are destroying in their desperation for a mere click.
Great post! I never heard of this selfie tragedy! But really good to know!
luv4beautyblog
totally agree…people should be aware of possible situation that too much indulgence in selfie will cause…
I didn’t know about the crashing of the old statue, but read about the jeep incident and some have lost their lives too. Taking selfies should be banned in such places.
Good advice.
Very thoughtful post Indrani. Seriously I couldnt understand or even digest such idiotic craziness when it comes to selfie. Many have even lost their lives. Some serious measures must be taken to avoid such things. This post came up in a right time, I guess.
I’ve been marvelling at the stupidity of these selfie obsessed people and was particularly appalled by the dolphin incident. There was also a Greek tourist who tugged at a goose so roughly to take a selfie with it that the poor thing actually fell unconscious. I believe it eventually got up and walked off. Good post Indrani.
Insightful. Plus the sheer craze is so irritating sometimes. I recently witnessed my cousins and young nieces clicking away to glory for 5 hours straight, at a wedding.
I agree. I’ve seen people go gaga taking selfies. Recently, while attending a child’s birthday, I observed that the invitees were actually neglecting the occasion while they were busy clicking selfies!
Thanks for the post.
Great post….
Selfie related deaths never teach a lesson to those who cherish indulging in selfies without being conscious of the dangers lurking behind them
Bad stuff, poor man.
A great informative post. I wasn’t even aware of these selfie goofups!
I like your idea of punishment for the 24 year old guy! I guess he really deserves it for bringing down an age old statue just for a selfie!
An apt post Indrani!
It is a craze that has now gone viral with folks posting selfies in more and more weird situations… It is good to take a selfie as it preserves your memory but not at a cost of life and safety… good thought invoking article
selfie tragedies are another disaster slowly creeping into our lives ..especially teens and youths…though a bit unknowingly. We should better take note of it. Good advice Indrani…
*The King didn’t come down to get his selfie taken; it is this guy who went up* – So true! The phone manufacturers are also going overboard manufacturing selfie capability as their USP!
A girl lost her life in Mumbai recently when she fell into the sea and drowned while taking her selfie on the rocks!
Selfie sticks also need to be banned. They are already banned in many places as I have noted.
Hi Shri I have added this point and credited it to you in my blogpost.
Thanks!
You are welcome! 🙂
Good post. I had no idea about the selfie tragedies.
Thank you Carver for the compliment on my post.
Good advice and post. I have heard about people dying trying to get their selfies. Happy Sunday, enjoy your new week ahead!
Yes Eileen, a dangerous trend is setting in and needs to be curbed before things do out of control. Thank you for the compliment on my post. Wishing you a great week ahead!