Selfies are the epitome of our modern society. Everyone’s taking them and even those who strongly disagree with the idea of them (such as myself) have at least taken one. But could something so simple be dangerous?

This year alone at least twelve people have been killed whilst taking selfies. Sharks, one of the most feared sea creatures since Jaws debut in 1975, have killed eight people this year. Which, is far less compared to how many sharks humans have killed.

Returning to selfies, you’re probably wondering how can a person die from doing such a simple thing? It’s only taking a picture. Well my fellow reader it’s not so much the picture, it’s how and where people take the picture. Why take a boring selfie in the arms of safety when you can do it on a cliff?

Selfies are becoming so dangerous that certain parks and tourist attractions are actually putting up signs explicitly stating NOT to take selfies. Although it might seem a little excessive, it really seems to be needed in certain places and should be taken very  seriously.

In August a man was stabbed to death by a bull. He was trying to capture a unique moment at the annual Bull Run held in Villaseca de la Sagra in Spain. A similar occurrence happened back in July when a young woman was stabbed to death at the Yellowstone National Park. She was attempting to take a selfie with a passing bison. Perhaps most recently, earlier this September a young girl lost her balance and plummeted 700 metres. This happened at Norway’s famous Trolltunga while she was attempting to take a selfie.

I think many people can agree that we’d prefer to see anyone we know come home safely from a trip with no extravagant selfies. We’d not want our loved ones to come home with a selfie that potentially risked their well-being only in the name of more likes on instagram or facebook.