Chennai: India has the highest number of selfie deaths in the world, according to a 2016 report “Me, Myself and My Killfie” formulated by the Carnegie Mellon University and Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi (IIT Delhi). According to it, 128 out of a total 213 selfie deaths recorded from 2014 to 2018 have been in India.
Selfies resulting in death and serious accidents have become a dangerous global phenomenon.
A 38-year-old woman from Delhi fell to her death from a cliff when she tried to take a selfie with her husband. In another incident, a 14-year-old boy was electrocuted while attempting to take a selfie atop a stationary train.
Another man in Nabarangpur tried to take a selfie with a wounded bear and was mauled to death by the animal. The motivation for all these pictures was the danger involved in it.
“Its the addiction to be relevant,” says Dr Latha Janaki, a psychologist in Chennai. “One craves social approval and attention for all the pictures they take and hence put themselves and their lives at risk to take them,” she says.
The only intervention is awareness, say concerned parents. “The solution is digital detox sessions at school and colleges. If a child is taught the intensity of the situation, he might not attempt it,” they say.
