In 2015, more people died whilst taking a selfie than due to shark attacks – 12 compared to 8. And it doesn’t look like 2016 will fare much better for the selfie takers amongst us.
In January 2015, three young men lost their lives in India after posing for selfies on a train track. They were struck by a speeding train and died instantly.
In another incident, a young Australian woman (24) from Melbourne fell to her death whilst attempting to take a selfie on the edge of Norway’s Trolltunga rock, 700 metres above Lake Ringedalsvatnet.
Visitors to Trolltunga, or troll’s tongue, often pose for dramatic photos standing close to the edge or dangling their feet over the drop.
In other incident, five people were gored by bison at Yellowstone National Park after trying to pose for a selfie with the wild animals.
According to the statistics, the majority of selfie-related deaths involved people aged between 18 and 22. By far, falling was the biggest cause of selfie-related deaths in 2015, followed by people being hit be moving vehicles.
The phenomenon of selfie-related deaths is such a problem in some countries (Russia for example) that governments have made public guidelines to protect their citizens.
Russian selfie guide
Interestingly, even some animals are jumping on the selfie bandwagon. In 2011, Naruto – a celebes crested macaques from Indonesia – took a series of selfies after a British photographer set up his camera on a tripod, and deliberately left the remote trigger for the camera accessible to the curious animals.