People of America, you need to adjust your ears and open up your eyes to a new threat sweeping the world. This deadly phenomenon consists of a phone’s camera and usually a duck face or a half smile.
It is what America has come to know as “the selfie” and it’s doing more damage to the human species than the great white shark.
A 17-year-old boy in Russia was recently killed after falling from a nine-story building. This occurred after the victim chose to hang from the roof by a rope in order to capture a selfie to add to his Instagram portfolio. Death-by-selfie.
It’s serious, people. So serious, in fact, that the Russian government issued a selfie-taking guide earlier this year, even having the Interior Ministry hold a press conference to introduce the new selfie guidelines. Russia can launch airstrikes on civilians in Syria, but they will be damned if the selfie takes another innocent life.
Don’t think this was just an overreaction to a single death. Over the last year, Russia has seen 10 deaths by selfie and 100 injuries. Dangerous isn’t even the right word to describe this growing phenomenon.
Death-by-selfie isn’t just a Russian trend, either. In April of last year, a 32-year-old woman was killed by driving head on into a truck just moments after posting selfies online.
Just last month, a 19-year-old man shot and killed himself after attempting to take a selfie with a gun pointed at his head.
Two months prior to the death-by-selfie in Houston, a San Diego man was hospitalized after attempting to take a picture with a rattlesnake, barely escaping the fatal clutch of the selfie.
Shockingly, none of these death-by-selfie accounts have seemed to quiet the craze, as people remain intent on delivering the next great selfie to a social network near you.
The laws and regulations that this phenomena has prompted may be the most asinine and unique thing you have ever heard.
The selfie stick? Don’t even think about taking that to Seoul; it’s completely outlawed in South Korea.
Everyone loves animals. Just don’t think about taking a selfie with one in New York, where that action is banned.
Want to lounge out on the beach and take selfies of that summer bod you have been working on? Anywhere but Garoupe, France, should suffice. The tourist infested beach created “No Braggie Zones” last summer in order to restrict the amount of selfie-taking done.
It may seem harsh, but these rules may actually save your life one day.
Yes, getting over 100 likes on your latest Instagram selfie is extremely impressive and should be coveted and sought after in the same way that a successful life is. Yes, the ability to lay claim to fame on some of the greatest selfies on the Internet is an honor, and I’m sure you will still be as proud as you are now in 20 years.
However, there is a price to be paid to capture the best possible selfie. Is your life worth that price?
Be aware, be cautious and spread the word: The selfie, for all the magical and amazing things it has done for this world, can and will, kill you.
Related Links:
To selfie stick or not to selfie stick
Reach the columnist at sjhann@asu.edu or follow @spencer_hann on Twitter.
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
