Killfie: India ranked the country with highest selfie deaths
A study conducted in duration of 18 months found Mumbai to have the mostselfie-related accidents
(Web Desk) - “Don t make taking a selfie mean taking your own life,” was a warning message tweeted by the Mumbai police after a 17-year-old girl died while trying to take a selfie with her friends on June 28 in one of the famous seaport spots of Mumbai.
Don t make taking a selfie mean taking your own life #SafeMonsoonTips pic.twitter.com/9YMYjapA78
— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) June 28, 2017
In a new collaborative research study: “Me, Myself and my Killfie: Characterizing and Preventing Selfie Deaths”, conducted by Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, US, and Indraprastha Institute of Information Delhi, researchers found out 76 of the 127 reported selfie deaths happened in an 18 month period, while Mumbai in particular has the most accidents due to selfies.
According to the study, “Clicking selfies has become a symbol of self-expression and often people portray their adventurous side by uploading crazy selfies. This has proved to be dangerous”. It also spoke about the dangerous selfie trends, “so disastrous that during the year 2015 alone, there have been more deaths caused due to selfies than shark attacks all over the world.”
The study data indicated that 73 people died while taking extreme photos of themselves in the first eight months of 2016, up from 39 in 2015 and 15 in 2014. Most victims, according to the report, were younger than 25 years old. India ranked at the top with 76 deaths related to selfies. Pakistan ranks on the second with 9 causalities, whilst USA on third with 8 deaths.
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The study was conducted in the time frame of 18 months between March 2014 and September 2016. (Graph credit: Vocativ)
Mumbai police have stated that they are considering plans to mark 15 dangerous public sites in the city as “selfie-free points”.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Paramjeet Dahiya, told The Times of India: “We deploy bandobast [police protection] at selfie points when the tide is high. When the weather is rough, we request people not to go near the sea to take selfies. The personnel on bandobast are sufficiently briefed not to let people pull dangerous stunts.”
The study found that between March 2014 and September 2016, 60 percent of all “selfie deaths”, when a person dies while trying to take a picture of themselves with a digital camera or a phone, occurred in India.
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Young girls taking a selfie in a dangerous spot. (Photo credit:Indian Express)
“With the growing trend of dangerous selfies, it becomes important to spread awareness of the inherent hazards associated with people risking their lives simply for the sake of recognition on a virtual forum,” the report said. “This work is a small contribution towards making the world safer, by making the people aware.”
