Selfies taken on adventurous trail and in bizarre situations can lead to accidents or prove fatal.
An online movement called Selfie To Die For, is trying to create a global awareness on the life hazards of taking risky selfies.
Published: Sat 8 Oct 2016, 9:14 PM
Taking selfies has been a craze for a while. At times, people don't realise that the 'cool selfie' they are about to click can lead to an accident or even prove fatal.
It is being said on various media that the number of selfie-related deaths are more than the number of shark-related deaths.
Selfies taken on adventurous trail and in bizarre situations can lead to accidents or prove fatal. On an average, a youth takes about 14-15 selfies a day. That's 5000+ selfies in a year. Even if a small percentage of those selfies were taken in a risky way, it is a big enough number to be concerned.
A survey done by confused.com indicated that 7 per cent of motorists have admitted to taking selfies while driving. Be it deaths due to dare devil poses in front of the trains, taking panoramic views of clifftops, standing on top of bridge with live electric wires or capturing oneself while driving - selfie-related deaths are here to stay till we collectively raise an awareness.
Deepak Gandhi, an Indian who runs a digital agency in Dubai, has started an online movement called Selfie To Die For, to create a global awareness on the life hazards of taking risky selfies.
"I'm not against taking selfies. I'm only trying to create an awareness about the deadly outcomes of risky selfies. People can visit my website www.SelfieToDieFor.org, to read about the deadly outcomes of taking a risky selfie, and take a pledge to take selfie responsibly. Upon doing so, they get a 'digital badge' which mentions 'I Pledge to Selfie Responsibly' which can later be shared on Facebook/Twitter. This creates a viral effect and top-of-the-mind recall."
"#SelfieToDieFor is an educative movement aimed to create awareness on the hazards of taking selfies at life-threatening locations. The campaign is conceptualised with an objective to drive a mass movement and appeal the youth to click selfies responsibly. After all, you need to be around to count the huge number of likes on your selfie post, don't you?"
Other than the masses, Deepak is reaching out to government departments, requesting to identify no-selfie zones and warning signboards to be put up. He has also proposed to consider taking risky selfies a punishable offence and penalise on those who are caught doing so.
"Many brands run selfie-related campaigns. Participants may take risky selfies in the excitement to win gratifications, or at times just for the 'likes'. I suggest that it must be a part of the brand's terms and conditions, that selfies that seem risky will be disqualified or considered invalid."
Deepak, through social media channels, is going around requesting celebrities to refrain from putting up their selfies which are taken in a manner that could prove dangerous for the youth to try themselves.
"Let us collectively do our bit to save people from dying because of a selfie!"
saman@khaleejtimes.com
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