Selfies: A Boon or bane? Women falls to her death while taking a selfie in Chennai

Selfie deaths have become an emerging problem and we performed this study to assess the epidemiology of selfie-related deaths across the globe.

A woman slipped and fell to her death while taking a selfie photograph.

T Mercy Steffy, 24, drowned after she had an accidental fall into a well while taking a selfie with her fiance on Monday evening, sources said.

Steffy was engaged to D Appu, 24, who works in a private firm. Their marriage was slated to be held in January 2020.

Sources said that on Monday Appu went to Steffy's house in a motorbike and picked her up. They then went to farmland in Kandigai village. When they noticed a well they decided to take selfie standing near the well. The well reportedly had stairs to climb down. Sources said that after taking selfies standing around the well they walked down the stairs to take selfie sitting on the stairs.

While clicking pictures Steffy had an accidental fall. Her head smashed against the wall before she fell into the water. Appu who tried to help her also fell into the water. People in the neighbourhood who heard the cries of Appu managed to rescue him. But Steffy's body was recovered by the fire and rescue services personnel. Police have registered a case and further investigation is underway.

Appu has been admitted to a private hospital.

According to a report, a 22-year-old man recently fell to his death while attempting to take a selfie in a waterfall in Tiruvannamalai district.

"The selfie deaths have become a major public health problem, "If you're just standing, simply taking it with a celebrity or something, that's not harmful. But if that selfie is accompanied with risky behaviour then that's what makes the selfies dangerous."

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, the 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 behaviour or non-risky behaviour. Risky behaviour caused more deaths and incidents due to selfies than non-risky behaviour. The number of deaths in females is less due to risky behaviour than non-risky behaviour 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.