Selfies are everywhere. It’s hard to go through the day without being bombarded by them all around you on social media. They have become a normalized part of the American culture in recent years. Aside from the fun of it all– sharing your life with those around you through the “fun” photography method, is this actually a healthy or harmful trend? Open your eyes to the potential harmfulness of “generation selfie”…
Selfies as Narcissism
As reported by Real Farmacy, scientists Link Selfies To Narcissism, Addiction & Mental Illness:
The big problem with the rise of digital narcissism is that it puts enormous pressure on people to achieve unfeasible goals, without making them hungrier. Wanting to be Beyoncé, Jay Z or a model is hard enough already, but when you are not prepared to work hard to achieve it, you are better off just lowering your aspirations. Few things are more self-destructive than a combination of high entitlement and a lazy work ethic. Ultimately, online manifestations of narcissism may be little more than a self-presentational strategy to compensate for a very low and fragile self-esteem. Yet when these efforts are reinforced and rewarded by others, they perpetuate the distortion of reality and consolidate narcissistic delusions.”
Death by selfie
Selfies kill. Mashable reports that more people have died from selfies than shark attacks this year! According to data from 2015, only 8 deaths were attributed to shark attacks, compared to 12 caused by taking selfies. Selfie deaths were usually tourist fatalities caused by falling or from trains while trying to get the perfect yet dangerous photo. According to Mashable:
Four of the selfie deaths this year, like the tourist identified as Hideto Ueda, were caused by falling.
The next leading cause of deaths involved selfies as being hit or injured by trains, either because the individual was taking trying to get a photo with a train or because the photo they wanted involved getting on dangerous equipment.”
So if you must take a selfie, do so carefully and at your own risk.
Photo Credit: Depositphotos.com/Syda_Productions
[H/T]: Mashable