This past week a 21-year-old Russian woman shot herself in the head while taking a selfie with a loaded gun. A tourist died while taking a selfie on a cliff in Bali. Did you know that 17 percent of Americans admit to taking a selfie while driving? These are just a few examples of selfies gone bad.
In India a man was hit by a train while taking a selfie on the tracks. Another Indian man died taking a selfie pretending to hang himself. Selfies are definitely not worth dying for. Why are all these people taking risks for the “perfect picture?”
We need to teach our kids to be safe. Selfies can be physically dangerous, but there are other dangers as well. Teens need to know that sharing their location with the entire internet is not a good idea. Street signs, school logos, popular hangouts are all ways strangers can see exactly where they are and have been.
Teens should be taught that revealing or suggestive images can be used to harm them and their reputations. In some cases legal action has resulted from teens posting sexually explicit photos online.
According to The Independent, a selfie obsessed teen tried to commit suicide because he couldn’t get the right light for a selfie. “People don’t realise when they post a picture of themselves on Facebook or Twitter it can so quickly spiral out of control. It becomes a mission to get approval and it can destroy anyone,” he said.
