The advent of technology has definitely made people’s lives easier but it has its own disadvantages too. Today most of the smartphones have high end cameras which can click one of the best selfies. Whenever people visit tourist destinations like beach, temple, fort they first try to click selfies instead of enjoying their trip or understanding about the place. People’s obsession about taking selfies is costing them heavily as some of them have lost their lives. Today the attention span of an individual has reduced drastically as he is always glued to his mobile phone. Nowadays face to face interaction between people has decreased due to mobile phones.
Youth are more concerned about checking new post, pictures and updates instead of interacting with their friends. Why have people become so obsessed about selfies? According to psychologists people want to upload their latest image on social networking sites like facebook, twitter and whatsapp to garner more likes and comments. As per media report India tops in the most number of selfie related deaths occurred in the world. Of the 27 selfie related deaths at last half of them have occurred in India. People are trying to take selfies while moving in car, train, bike, in front of a moving train. They also click their photos after visiting beaches, on the top of mountains, while swimming which are proving to be fatal.
Recently, three young girls had drowned in Arabian Sea while taking selfies in Bandstand. A man who jumped in to sea to rescue them lost his life. In January, last year, three students aged 20 to 22 died trying to take a selfie close to a speeding train. In Nagpur, seven youths drowned in a lake in March, while attempting to take a selfie. In Tamil Nadu, an engineering student died while taking selfies with friends at Kolli Hills. The rock on which he was standing cracked and gave way, plunging him 60 feet and causing his death from head injuries. In November, two students died in Gujarat after slipping down the bank of the Narmada canal while trying to take a selfie. Even psychologists are concerned about the rising number of deaths due to selfies. According to them people should switch off their mobiles phones or atleast stop clicking selfies and enjoy the natural beauty of the world.
The Mumbai police have started identifying several spots in the city where maximum number of people take selfies. They are planning to ban selfies at these spots. The spots include the major tourist attractions of Girgaum Chowpatty beach and Marine Drive promenade as well as Bandstand. They will install notice boards at these spots mentioning no selfie zone to deter people from clicking selfies. Through this initiative they hope will discourage people from putting themselves at risk while photographing themselves. Police also plans to create awareness among youth through social media to educate them about the perils of clicking selfies at dangerous spots. As a precautionary measure, last year, ‘no-selfie zones’ were also established at certain areas of the Kumbh Mela in Nashik, because organizers feared delays caused by selfie-takers could spark stampedes.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
