- Half of the selfie deaths reported in India
BEIJING: Around 259 people have died worldwide while clicking a perfect selfie in a six-year period between 2011 and 2017.
Half of the selfie deaths occurred in India, followed by Russia, the United States and Pakistan. About 72.5 per cent of the total deaths occurred in males and 27.5 per cent in females, Chinese media reported while quoting a recent study published in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.
Although females are generally predicted to take more selfies, the research found that men were three times more responsible for risky behaviour as compared to the women. The leading cause of selfie death was drowning, including being washed away by waves on a beach, boats capsizing while rowing or snapping selfies on shore without knowing how to swim.
Transport was marked as the second leading cause where majority incidents occurred in front of running trains. Falling off something and fire were considered as other major causes of selfie deaths, accounting for 48 cases, according to the study.
It also said that selfie deaths were on the rise, with three selfie-related deaths reported in 2011 and grew to 98 and 93 in 2016 and 2017, which boosted by the increasing usage of the mobile phones and the availability of the selfie sticks.
Overall, the total number of casualties and incident are high for 10-19 and 20-29 age groups, the study showed. “The youth and tourists are frequently affected because of the desire of being cool, posting photos on social media and getting rewards in forms of likes and comments,” the study said.
