Put Your Damn Phone Down: 300+ Deaths and Injuries From Selfies in the Last Decade
February 19, 2021 ctn_admin
Whether it be posing on a cliff edge or next to a wild animal, some people will go to extreme lengths to snap the perfect selfie.
While these daredevil shots might rack up Instagram likes, they can be deadly – as new research reveals over 330 deaths and injuries have been caused by selfie-taking over the last decade.
Inkifi has analyzed news reports to discover where and how the most selfie-related injuries and deaths have taken place over the ten years.
You can view the research in full here: https://inkifi.com/danger-selfies/
We didn’t see Canada mentioned on the list of dangerous places for selfies, so that’s nice. But they did provide a list of some dangerous selfie incidents in the U.S. including these:
- Five passengers aboard a sightseeing helicopter drowned after a passenger allegedly tried to take a ‘shoe selfie’, leading to the passenger’s safety tether getting caught in the emergency fuel shutoff lever.
- National parks including Yosemite and Yellowstone have seen numerous deaths, with selfie-takers falling from cliff heights such as Taft Point, Yosemite.
- America’s wildlife also poses a threat to selfie-takers. A man from San Diego was hospitalised for five days following an attempt to take a selfie with a rattlesnake which then bit him.
The countries with the most selfie-related accidents:
| Rank | Country | Deaths/Injuries |
| 1 | India | 176 |
| 2 | United States | 26 |
| 3 | Russia | 19 |
| 4 | Pakistan | 14 |
| 5 | Australia | 11 |
| 6 | Brazil | 7 |
| 7 | Spain | 6 |
| 7 | Sri Lanka | 6 |
| 9 | Croatia | 5 |
| 9 | Philippines | 5 |
India had a vastly higher number of selfie-related incidents than any other country, with 176 deaths and injuries being reported in the last ten years. 48 of these accidents involved people standing too close to a burning bakery in Chennai, India, to take selfies.
The most common types of selfie accidents:
| Rank | Type of Accident | Deaths/Injuries |
| 1 | Drowned | 88 |
| 2 | Fall | 86 |
| 3 | Transport | 62 |
| 4 | Fire | 48 |
| 5 | Electrocution | 19 |
| 6 | Animal | 12 |
| 7 | Firearm | 11 |
| 8 | Other | 6 |
The most common type of selfie accident is drowning, from which 88people have lost their lives whilst taking selfies. Following closely behind is falling from heights people trying to get the most impressive shots possible, resulting in 86 deaths/injuries.
Locations with the most selfie accidents:
| Rank | Location | Deaths/Injuries |
| 1 | Railway line | 62 |
| 2 | Cliff | 38 |
| 3 | River | 24 |
| 4 | Lake | 21 |
| 5 | Waterfall | 20 |
Railway lines are the most common location for selfie-related deaths and injuries to take place, whether that’s being hit by a train or electrocuted by the power lines, 62 deaths/injuries have occurred on railway tracks.
You can view the research in full by clicking here.
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