76 of these were in India alone, according to a study by Carnegie Mellon University and Indraprastha Institute of Information Delhi, which analyzed thousands of selfies on Twitter.
There, people died taking selfies while posing in front of an oncoming train, on a cliff that crumbled and fell into a ravine, drowning after being swept out to sea, falling down the steps of the Taj Mahal and even posing with a loaded gun. Most of the victims were men under the age of 24.
It’s become such a problem, government officials are now cracking down. In Mumbai, selfies have been banned in 16 zones with selfie snappers hit with a 1,200 rupee fine (around AU$23.40).
There was some good news from the researchers – their data is now being used to develop software that will warn users when they are in risky places or turn off their camera function if the situation looks too dangerous.
Our advice – just stay off the train tracks.
