Think twice before you take your next selfie because it could be your last.
Selfie-related deaths are on the rise, according to a new study that found there were over 250 reported deaths from October 2011 to November 2017 that happened while the person was trying to snap a selfie.
The total number of selfie deaths may actually be much higher than the 259 figure published in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. Researchers behind the study say selfie-related deaths are very underreported.
“Certain road accidents while posing for selfies are reported as death due to Road Traffic Accident,” the study’s authors wrote. “Thus, the true magnitude of the problem is underestimated.”
Death by selfie
If you think this is a problem mostly affecting young vainglorious Instagram girls, guess again. 72.5% of the deaths were male, with people between 20 to 29 years old accounting for the highest percentage of deaths.
Just last we saw a report of a young man who died at Yosemite while trying to take a selfie next to a giant waterfall. Earlier in the summer, an Australian couple fell to their deaths while taking a selfie at a beach in Portugal.
Drowning, falling and getting hit by cars are the top causes of death. The United States, Russia and India have the most incidents reported but selfie-deaths have happened all across the globe.
The study has led some people to start calling for no-selfie zones to save people from themselves. Considering the new iPhone’s make selfie’s look even better, the number of selfie-related deaths will probably only continue to grow.
