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Stop It With The Dangerous Selfies: Your Life Is Worth More Than A Like
Is that selfie you so desperately need to take worth risking your life. Are the likes that important? A recent study revealed that 259 people have died since 2011 in the pursuit of a dope, dangerous, or dumb selfie. The latest victim is 21-year-old British Youtube star Madalyn Davis who plunged to her death after she fell off a cliff in Diamond Bay Reserve, Sydney on Sunday morning.
Her body was finally retrieved from the waters below, more than four hours after friends reported her missing. Here’s the crazy part, Davis isn’t the only person to lose her life at that same spot in the past year. Another woman also fell while, you guessed it, snapping a selfie on the picturesque cliff.
Instagram is literally killing people. Far too many young adults are losing their lives chasing “likes” on social media. Here are the stats, The victims are often young and male. The average age of the deceased is approximately 23, and male deaths outnumber female deaths nearly three to one.
From the Grand Canyon and Yosemite to the Taj Mahal, the locations seem to almost always be popular tourist destinations. In an age where likes equate to social currency, the need to push the envelope when taking travel photographs has gotten out of hand. Take it from a photographer, no picture is worth your life. Taking one step closer to the ledge just to capture the perfect angle is, no matter how you rationalize it, not worth the heartache and pain your family and friends will endure should something bad happen.
Don’t just take our word for it. “A lot of us including yours truly is a fan of daredevilry attempts of standing at the edge of cliffs and skyscrapers, but did you know that wind gusts can be FATAL???” Meenakshi Moorthy captioned an image of herself sitting on a cliff overlooking the Grand Canyon. “Is our life just worth one photo?” she asked on March 28, 2018.
Just seven months later, Moorthy shared her last post on Instagram to her thousands of followers. Her body was discovered alongside her partners in Yosemite National Park. The two had fallen 800 feet taking selfies.
Eric has revolved in and out of passport controls for over 20 years. From his first archaeological field school in Belize to rural villages in Ethiopia and Buddhist temples in Laos, Eric has come smile to smile with all walks of life. A writer, photographer and entrepreneur, the LA native believes the power of connectivity and community is enriched through travel.