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Selfies: A boon or bane?

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Abstract

Background Selfie deaths have become an emerging problem and we performed this study to assess the epidemiology of selfie-related deaths across the globe. Subject and Methods We performed a comprehensive search for keywords such as “selfie deaths; selfie accidents; selfie mortality; self photography deaths; koolfie deaths; mobile death/accidents” from news reports to gather information regarding selfie deaths. Results From October 2011 to November 2017, there have been 259 deaths while clicking selfies in 137 incidents. The mean age was 22.94 years. About 72.5% of the total deaths occurred in males and 27.5% in females. The highest number of incidents and selfie-deaths has been reported in India followed by Russia, United States, and Pakistan. Drowning, transport, and fall form the topmost reasons for deaths caused by selfies. We also classified reasons for deaths due to selfie as risky behavior or non-risky behavior. Risky behavior caused more deaths and incidents due to selfies than non-risky behavior. The number of deaths in females is less due to risky behavior than non-risky behavior while it is approximately three times in males. Conclusion “No selfie zones” areas should be declared across tourist areas especially places such as water bodies, mountain peaks, and over tall buildings to decrease the incidence of selfie-related deaths.
© 2018 Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow 828
Introduction
Sele is a recent phenomenon and was named as the word
of the year 2013 by Oxford Dictionary.[1] It is described as a
photograph that a person takes of himself (or group) typically
using a smartphone likely for the purpose of sharing in social
media. Google estimated that 24 billion seles were uploaded
to Google photos in 2015.[2] About 1 million seles are clicked
per day in 18‑ to 24‑year‑old demographic. Pew research centers
have found that around 55% of millenials have posted a sele
on social media services.[3]
Technology has also promoted the phenomenon of “sele.
There are sites sharing information on “how to have a perfect
sele” and “different poses for sele.” New terms have been
introduced such as koole, restaurante, musclee, dentise, and
many more. Introduction of “sele sticks” and “sele shoe” have
enhanced obsession among people for seles.[4] These days the
choice of smart phones is based on their sele picture quality. In
addition, there are certain events held at school or college level
that promotes “seles” like the “best sele” prize.
Clicking seles and sharing them on social media has become a mode
of self‑expression. People sometimes portray themselves amidst
dangerous settings[5,6] so as to gain attention on social media sites. In
some cases, this has had fatal consequences. The rst time Google
search engine got a request for “sele deaths” in January 2014,
when the death of a Lebanonian became the tragic viral sensation
after being killed by a car bomb moments after posing for a sele.[7]
Seles are never reported as an ofcial cause of death. It is believed
that sele deaths are underreported and the true problem needs to
be addressed. For example, certain road accidents while posing for
seles are reported as death due to Road Trafc Accident. Thus,
the true magnitude of problem is underestimated. It is therefore
important to assess the true burden, causes, and reasons for sele
deaths so that appropriate interventions can be made.
Seles:Aboonorbane?
Agam Bansal1, Chandan Garg2, Abhijith Pakhare1, Samiksha Gupta1
1Community and Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh,
2Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Abs tr Act
Background: Selfie deaths have become an emerging problem and we performed this study to assess the epidemiology of selfie‑related
deaths across the globe. Subject and Methods: We performed a comprehensive search for keywords such as “selfie deaths; selfie
accidents; selfie mortality; self photography deaths; koolfie deaths; mobile death/accidents” from news reports to gather information
regarding selfie deaths. Results: From October 2011 to November 2017, there have been 259 deaths while clicking selfies in 137
incidents. The mean age was 22.94 years. About 72.5% of the total deaths occurred in males and 27.5% in females. The highest number
of incidents and selfie‑deaths has been reported in India followed by Russia, United States, and Pakistan. Drowning, transport, and
fall form the topmost reasons for deaths caused by selfies. We also classified reasons for deaths due to selfie as risky behavior or
non‑risky behavior. Risky behavior caused more deaths and incidents due to selfies than non‑risky behavior. The number of deaths
in females is less due to risky behavior than non‑risky behavior while it is approximately three times in males. Conclusion: “No selfie
zones” areas should be declared across tourist areas especially places such as water bodies, mountain peaks, and over tall buildings
to decrease the incidence of selfie‑related deaths.
Keywords: Mortality, no selfie zone, risky, selfie
Original Article
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Website:
www.jfmpc.com
DOI:
10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_109_18
Address for correspondence: Dr. Agam Bansal,
Room no. 213 Boys Hostel, All India Institute of Medical
Sciences, Saket Nagar, Bhopal ‑ 462 020, Madhya Pradesh, India.
E‑mail: agambansal7@gmail.com
How to cite this article: Bansal A, Garg C, Pakhare A, Gupta S. Seles:
A boon or bane?. J Family Med Prim Care 2018;7:828-31.
This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative
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Bhansal, et al.: Sele deaths
Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care 829 Volume 7 : Issue 4 : July-August 2018
Previous studies have taken data from Wikipedia and Twitter
images, which may underestimate the true number of sele
deaths. Our study incorporates the records from news reports,
thus we were able to get a wider range of information related
to sele deaths.
Objectives
The objective of this article is to study the epidemiology of
sele‑related deaths across the globe.
Methodology
Sele‑related death was dened as any accidental death that
occurs while doing self‑photography or clicking seles. Initially,
we made an exhaustive list of the English newspapers of various
countries using Wikipedia or Ministry of broadcasting of
respective countries. We performed a Google search for keywords
such as “sele deaths; sele accidents; sele mortality; self
photography deaths; koole deaths; mobile death/accidents.”
The web link addresses of the news from search results were
cross‑matched with the web links of list of prepared English
newspapers of various countries. The results that did not match
were excluded from the study.
Inclusion criteria
1. Incidents of sele‑related deaths reported in news in English
Language
2. The news report links that matched with the list of prepared
English newspapers.
Exclusion criteria
1. Sele deaths/mortality was differentiated from deaths due
to mobile phones. For example, if a person died while using
mobile phone, he was excluded from study. Only deaths while
clicking seles have been considered
2. The news reports in language other than English
3. Duplicates were identied based on date and time of event,
location of event, age, and gender of victim. The duplicates
identied were removed from the study
4. The news reports that contained statistical articles regarding
seles, opinions regarding sele deaths, or further research
on sele deaths were excluded from the study.
Results
We report a comprehensive analysis of sele‑related deaths.
From October 2011 to November 2017, there have been 259
deaths while clicking seles in 137 incidents. There have been 3
sele‑related deaths reported in 2011; 2 in 2013; 13 in 2014; 50 in
2015; 98 and 93, respectively, in 2016 and 2017. In one incident
with 48 casualities, we were unable to obtain data regarding their
age and gender. The mean age was 22.94 years with range from
10 to 68 years. About 72.5% (153) of the total deaths occurred
in males and 27.5% in females. Considering agewise distribution,
about 50% (106) of total sele deaths occurred in 20–29 year age
group followed by 36% deaths in 10–19 year age group [Figure 1].
Highest number of incidents and sele‑deaths has been reported
in India accounting for approximately 50% of total reported
followed by Russia, the United States, and Pakistan [Figure 2].
Except India, the ratio of casualties to incidents is approximately 1,
whereas it is double in India.
The causes of sele deaths along with the respective deaths and
incident cases have been elicited in Table 1. Drowning, transport,
and fall form the topmost three reasons for deaths caused by
seles. The most common drowning incidents include washed
away by waves on beach, capsizing of boats while rowing, clicking
seles on shore while not knowing how to swim, or ignoring
warnings. Similarly, for transport, it is majorly the accidents due
to clicking in front of a running train. Among all the reasons
for death, drowning and re have the highest deaths/incident
ratio. Also, most of the sele‑related deaths because of rearms
occurred in the United States.
We also classied reasons for deaths due to sele as risky behavior
or non‑risky behavior [Figure 3]. The incident where it is quite
evident that the person took risk to click sele and lost her life has
been classied as risky. For example, getting to a slippery edge of
a cliff to click sele has been marked risky while getting hit by a
sea wave on a calm sea and drowning has been marked non‑risky.
In case of ambiguity (for example, slipping from stairs and getting
injured and nally succumbing), a survey was conducted with 15
respondents and majority vote was taken to classify into one of
the classes. Risky behavior caused more deaths and incidents due
to seles than non‑risky behavior. Our study has shown that the
number of deaths in females is less due to risky behavior than
non‑risky behavior while it is approximately three times in males.
Figure 4 is a tree map demonstrating the risky and non‑risky
behavior in males and females.
Discussion
Taking seles is considered to be a mode of self‑expression
in today’s generation like looking in a mirror. Seles are well
popular among Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest
users. It is rewarding for individuals seeing the number of likes
and positive comments and this further inuences them to
post unique pictures which may also involve indulging in risky
behavior to click seles.[8]
Our study reports 259 deaths due to sele deaths in 137
incidents. A signicant number of cases are not reported
Figure 1: Age wise distribution of sele deaths
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Bhansal, et al.: Sele deaths
Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care 830 Volume 7 : Issue 4 : July-August 2018
in developing countries, which will also trickle down to
sele‑related deaths since these countries grab a major chunk
in overall numbers.
There has been an exponential increase in the number of sele
deaths from 2014–2015 to 2016–2017. This is because of
increased usage of mobile phones, enhanced sele features on
mobile phones, increased availability of sele sticks, and also
promotion of the phenomenon of seles through events like
“best sele prize.”
About three‑fourth of sele deaths occurred in males. A project
called selecity[9] has established that women take more seles
as compared to men. But because men are more likely to take
risk to click sele as compared to women, it justies the higher
number of deaths and incidents for men.
Overall, the total number of casualties and incidents is high
for 10–19 and 20–29 age group, highest for latter. Then, it
decreases as the age range goes up. It is expected because
people tend to be less adventurous as they age. This is evident
from the fact that the reasons for casualties in higher age range
are animal/fall unlike electrocution/drowning/rearms and so
on in younger age group.
Drowning and re have the highest deaths/incidents ratio among
all reasons because most of the times the other person who
dies in incident is the one who actually got into trouble while
clicking seles. Interestingly, most of the sele deaths due to
rearms occurred in the United States, which could be due to
less restrictive gun laws in the region.
Figure 2: Distribution of sele deaths country wise
Figure 4: Tree map showing selcides in males and females
Figure 3: Risky and non-risky distribution of sele deaths gender wise
Table1:Causesofsele‑relateddeath
Cause of sele death Sum of mortality Sum of incident count
Animal 8 7
Drowned 70 32
Electrocution 16 13
Fall 48 41
Fire 48 1
Firearm 11 11
Other 7 4
Transport 51 28
Total 259 137
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Bhansal, et al.: Sele deaths
Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care 831 Volume 7 : Issue 4 : July-August 2018
India has the highest number of sele‑related deaths. One
reason that partially accounts for such high share is the world’s
largest young (age ≤30 years) population residing in India, the
age group that has the highest number of deaths due to seles.
Also, our study has shown that the ratio of deaths to incidents
is almost double in India, whereas in other countries incidents
approximate the number of deaths. This unique feature could
be attributed to the reason that trend of group seles is more
prevalent in India as compared to other countries.
Seles take a toll on a large number of adolescents.[7] There
have been certain measures taken to reduce sele deaths such
as declaration of certain areas as “No sele zones.” In Mumbai,
16 areas have been declared as “no sele zones.”[10] In Indonesia,
administrative officials are preparing a safe selfie spot for
foreigners and tourists at Mt. Merapi taking into consideration
the risk of sele deaths.[11] In Russia, there are boards and slogans
displaying not to take seles in particular risky condition that
could endanger life.[12] Lamba et al.[13] are working on developing
an application that will be able to identify when someone is
taking a sele at dangerous situation and thus alert him or her to
the possible risk to life. This is based on analyzing the location
service and identifying a risky and unsafe location.
Although our study has enlisted the largest number of sele
deaths and incidents till date, this is just the tip of iceberg. Many
cases are not reported. The limitation of our study was that
we included news reports only in English language. Therefore,
news reports in local language have been missed. There is
no reporting of cases as sele‑related deaths in India. Thus,
certain deaths due to seles may be reported as road trafc
accidents or others, which leads to underreporting of a large
number of cases.
Large‑scale use of phone and time‑to‑time up gradation of
phone features have led to increased sele deaths. Usually the
youth and tourists are frequently affected because of the desire
of “being cool,” posting photos on social medical, and getting
rewards in forms of likes and comments. Seles are themselves
not harmful, but the human behavior that accompanies seles
is dangerous. Individuals need to be educated regarding certain
risky behaviors and risky places where seles should not be
taken. “No sele zones” areas should be declared across many
tourist areas specially places such as water bodies, mountain
peaks, and over tall buildings to decrease the incidence of
sele‑related deaths.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conicts of interest.
References
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... The COVID-19 pandemic was linked to considerable morbidity and mortality [1,2], but its impact on mortality associated with social media behavior remains unknown. In 2014, reports of selfie-related injuries involving young people and tourists taking sensational photographs for social media started appearing in international news [3]. Afterward, selfie-related incidents continued to increase, eventually becoming a prominent complication of extreme social media behavior, where individuals sought to post photos of themselves in risky locations [3]. ...
... In 2014, reports of selfie-related injuries involving young people and tourists taking sensational photographs for social media started appearing in international news [3]. Afterward, selfie-related incidents continued to increase, eventually becoming a prominent complication of extreme social media behavior, where individuals sought to post photos of themselves in risky locations [3]. Selfie-related mortality drew significant attention in the media, with selfie-related deaths continuing to increase around the world [3][4][5]. ...
... Afterward, selfie-related incidents continued to increase, eventually becoming a prominent complication of extreme social media behavior, where individuals sought to post photos of themselves in risky locations [3]. Selfie-related mortality drew significant attention in the media, with selfie-related deaths continuing to increase around the world [3][4][5]. Although it is evident that selfie-related mortality was on the rise before the onset of COVID-19, the impact of the pandemic on these trends over time remains uncertain. ...
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Background COVID-19 had a considerable impact on mortality, but its effect on behaviors associated with social media remains unclear. As travel decreased due to lockdowns during the pandemic, selfie-related mortality may have decreased, as fewer individuals were taking smartphone photographs in risky locations. Objective In this study, we examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on trends in selfie-related mortality. Methods We identified fatal selfie-related injuries reported in web-based news reports worldwide between March 2014 and April 2021, including the deaths of individuals attempting a selfie photograph or anyone else present during the incident. The main outcome measure was the total number of selfie-related deaths per month. We used interrupted time series regression to estimate the monthly change in the number of selfie-related deaths over time, comparing the period before the pandemic (March 2014 to February 2020) with the period during the pandemic (March 2020 to April 2021). Results The study included a total of 332 selfie-related deaths occurring between March 2014 and April 2021, with 18 (5.4%) deaths during the pandemic. Most selfie-related deaths occurred in India (n=153, 46.1%) and involved men (n=221, 66.6%) and young individuals (n=296, 89.2%). During the pandemic, two-thirds of selfie-related deaths were due to falls, whereas a greater proportion of selfie-related deaths before the pandemic were due to drowning. Based on interrupted time series regression, there was an average of 1.3 selfie-related deaths per month during the pandemic, compared with 4.3 deaths per month before the pandemic. The number of selfie-related deaths decreased by 2.6 in the first month of the pandemic alone and continued to decrease thereafter. Conclusions Our findings indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a marked decrease in selfie-related mortality, suggesting that lockdowns and travel restrictions likely prevented hazardous selfie-taking. The decrease in selfie-related mortality occurred despite a potential increase in social media use during the pandemic.
... Selfie taking habit is associated with grandiosity, narcissism and dysmorphic disorder.(7) Bansal A et al found that maximum selfie related worldwide injuries and deaths were from India (50%) followed by Russia ,USA & Pakistan (8),mostly in younger age group. (9) The ratio of casualties to incidents in India is double that in other countries. ...
... (9) The ratio of casualties to incidents in India is double that in other countries. (8) There is exponential rise in taking selfie among youths , medical students in India. (6,10) A person who is so selfie-obsessed, post copious amounts of selfies on social media with no purpose other than to say "look at me!".(11) ...
... Similar study in India by Bansal et al found 72.5% of selfie related deaths were seen among males. (8) In our study, 8.6% study subjects had acknowledged of taking risky dangerous selfie and of them male were more involved than female. The dangerous selfie i.e selfie taking in a situation which may endanger their life. ...
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Background: Selfie’ means “A photograph that one has taken of oneself or a self portrait photograph typically taken with a smart phone or digital camera and shared via social media”. Considering the dependency on Internet and selfie taking behavior among professional students, the study was undertaken. Aims and Objective- to determine the demographic profile of selfie users and different variables related to selfie taking and posting and its association with risky dangerous selfie. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted among 220 undergraduate medical students were using smartphone. Data was collected and analyzed using SPSS version 21. Results: Male students of middle class family of urban areas were more involved in taking selfie. Females were comparatively spending more time (2-3 hrs) on Internet (X2 =19.494 and p = .001).Total 14% students were taking 3-5 selfie and posted on social media(Statistically significant,X2 =7.882,p =0.019). 19(8.63%) participants admitted of taking dangerous selfie of which male 13(14.0%) more than female 06(8.4%). Conclusion: Age and gender affects the number of selfies one clicks. This is developing a new mental disorder ‘selfitis’ as well as desire to take dangerous selfie. There is need of health awareness programme, IEC regarding importance of healthy life style.
... I am writing in regards to a paper from your journal by Bansal et al. [1] titled "Selfies: A boon or bane?" published in 2018. The analysis itself was useful and relevant in its subject matter and aims. ...
... For this reason, the publication received notable media coverage from major news organizations such as the Washington Post, CNN, CBS News, and BBC, amongst others. [2,3] While reading the publication, I was horrified to read that a single selfie fire incident had somehow killed 48 people [as per Table 1 of the Bansal et al. [1] paper]. Interested to know more about how this was feasible, I conducted an online search to read more about this tragic event. ...
... A more recent publication by Linares et al. [5] found 379 selfie deaths in a 13.5 year period between 2008-2021 (versus 259 in a six year period from 2011-2017 in the Bansal et al. paper). [1] So the Bansal paper may very well be largely accurate beyond the fire incident. It should be noted that the Linares paper supports the letter written here as it contradicts the Bansal paper, having found 100 selfie deaths in India over a longer study period (versus 159 found in the Bansal paper). ...
... As with many other behaviors, self-control is determined. We should occasionally need to provide guidance at taking so many selfies and limits, because selfie can be a cause of death, according to a study done in 2018, a news report has shown that between Oct 2011 to Nov 2017, 259 selfie deaths has been done, with the highest occurrence in India followed by Russia, the United States (Bansal et al., 2018). So we should also need to counsel parents when selfie become a major issue for the family. ...
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... En medio de objetos visuales tan íntimos y privados, se necesita una comprensión empática de cómo estas imágenes extienden los actos de disposición hacia la sociedad. Más conocidos como selfies, los autorretratos contemporáneos suelen describirse como autofotografías tomadas por una persona sola o en compañía de otras, típicamente usando un teléfono móvil, con el principal propósito de compartirlos en línea (Bansal et al., 2018). ...
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Background Selfie-related injury has become a public health concern amid the near ubiquitous use of smartphones and social media apps. Of particular concern are selfie-related deaths at aquatic locations; areas often frequented because of their photogenic allure. Unfortunately, such places exhibit hazards inherent with their environment. Objective This study aimed to ascertain current evidence regarding selfie-related injuries and recommended risk treatment measures in the academic literature as well as how selfie-related injuries and deaths were being reported by the media, allowing us to identify key challenges facing land managers and public health practitioners in mitigating selfie-related injuries and deaths. Methods Between October and December 2022, we performed a narrative review of peer-reviewed literature published since January 2011. Literature was screened to identify causal factors implicated in selfie-related deaths and injuries, as well as risk treatments recommended. Furthermore, we used an environmental scan methodology to search for media reports of selfie-related injuries and deaths at aquatic locations in Australia and the United States. Individual cases of selfie-related aquatic injuries and deaths sourced from news reports were analyzed to assess epidemiological characteristics, and a thematic content analysis was conducted to identify key themes of news reporting on selfie-related deaths and injuries. Results In total, 5 peer-reviewed studies were included. Four studies identified falls from height as the most common injury mechanism in selfie incidents. Drowning was the second most common cause of death. Recommended risk treatments were limited but included the adoption of “no selfie zones,” physical barriers, signage, and provision of information on dangerous locations to social media users. In total, 12 cases were identified from media reports (4 injuries and 8 fatalities; 7 in Australia and 5 in the United States). The mean age of the reported victims was 22.1 (SD 6.93) years with victims more likely to be female tourists. Content analysis revealed 3 key themes from media reports: “blame,” “warning,” and “prevention and education.” Few media reports (n=8) provided safety recommendations. Conclusions The selfie-related incident phenomenon should be viewed as a public health problem that requires a public health risk communication response. To date, little attention has been paid to averting selfie-related incidents through behavior change methodologies or direct messaging to users, including through social media apps. Although previous research has recommended “no selfie zones,” barriers, and signage as ways to prevent selfie incidents, our results suggest this may not be enough, and it may be prudent to also engage in direct safety messaging to social media users. Media reporting of selfie incidents should focus on preventive messaging rather than blame or warning.
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Unintentional deaths from selfies have received limited exposure in emergency medicine literature; yet trauma remains the leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults, and most of those implicated in a selfie incident are in this demographic. Selfie-related injuries and deaths may be a relatively new phenomenon, but data suggest they are a public health hazard that is not going away. Emergency medicine practitioners may have a role to play in the primary and secondary prevention of selfie incidents, including delivering opportunistic behaviour change messaging to those who are at risk of being injured or killed in a selfie-related incident, particularly young (14-25 years) males. Emergency medicine specialists should be aware of the dangers of selfie-related incidents and understand their polytraumatic presentation.
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Selfie-related activities have become pervasive to the point that they may affect the mental health of people who engage in them. To ascertain this mechanism, this study examined the mediating role of selfitis in the associations between self-esteem, problematic social media use, problematic smartphone use, body-self appearance, and psychological distress among young Ghanaian adults. A total of 651 participants completed a questionnaire with measures on self-esteem, body-self appearance, problematic social media use, problematic smartphone use, depression, anxiety, stress, coping skills, and selfitis. There were direct associations between all the variables except between self-esteem and selfitis. In addition, selfitis mediated the associations between problematic social media use, problematic smartphone use, body-self appearance, and psychological distress except between self-esteem and psychological distress. These findings suggest that selfitis can serve as a pathway by which people who overly engage in problematic social media use, problematic smartphone use, and have poor body-self appearance may experience psychological distress. Hence, there is a need for health communicators, school authorities, and opinion leaders to educate young adults on the consequences of the problematic use of technology, especially for selfitis behaviour. Future studies can examine the factors that predict selfitis behaviour among adults.
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Background. Photography is an integral component of the international travel experience. Self-photography is becoming a mainstream behaviour in society and it has implications for the practice of travel medicine. Travellers who take selfies, including with the use of selfie sticks, may be subject to traumatic injuries associated with this activity. This review article is the first in the medical literature to address this emerging phenomenon. Methods. Articles indexed on PubMed and Scopus databases through 2015 were retrieved, using the search terms ‘travel’, combined with ‘selfie’, ‘self-photography’, ‘smartphone’, ‘mobile phone’ and ‘social media’. The reference lists of articles were manually searched for additional publications, and published media reports of travel-related self-photography were examined. Results. The lack of situational awareness and temporary distraction inherent in selfie-taking exposes the traveller to potential hazards. A diverse group of selfie injuries has been reported, including injury and death secondary to selfie-related falls, attacks from wild animals, electrocution, lightning strikes, trauma at sporting events, road traffic and pedestrian accidents. Public health measures adopted by the Russian Federation in response to over 100 reported selfie injuries in 2015 alone are presented. The review also discusses the potential for direct trauma from the use of selfie sticks. Travel-related scenarios where selfies should be avoided include photographs taken from a height, on a bridge, in the vicinity of vehicular traffic, during thunderstorms, at sporting events, and where wild animals are in the background. Recommendations exist which discourage use of mobile phones in drivers and pedestrians. Conclusions. The travel medicine practitioner should routinely counsel travellers about responsible self-photography during international travel and should include this advice in printed material given to the patient. The travel and mobile phone industries should reinforce these health promotion messages. Future research should offer greater insights into traveller selfie-taking behaviour.
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Over the past few years, a notable trend has emerged in social networking sites (SNSs). With the growing popularity of image-based SNSs such as Instagram, users increasingly communicate and present themselves by posting photographs they take of themselves (“selfies”). As the phenomenon of selfies becomes widespread across a range of SNSs as a unique means of self-presentation, an interesting question arises, what makes people post their selfies on SNSs. To delve into this rising issue, the present study investigates the antecedents of selfie-posting behavior on SNSs by applying and extending Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). A conceptual model, which is primarily drawn from the TPB and incorporates narcissism as an additional antecedent, is proposed and empirically tested. Results show that attitude toward selfie-posting, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and narcissism are the significant determinants of an individual's intention to post selfies on SNSs. Further, one's selfie-posting behavior on SNSs is significantly predicted by his or her intention to post selfies. Implications of the findings are discussed with suggestions for future research.
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