Selfies kill five times more people than sharks; most deaths in India

At least 259 people worldwide died taking selfies between October 2011 and November 2017, compared to just 50 people killed by sharks, says a study

India accounts for over half of that number (159), well ahead of next-placed Russia (16 deaths), the United States (14) and Pakistan (11)

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Tourists taking a selfie at America’s Grand Canyon, where a number of people have fallen to their deaths doing the same. Photo: AP

Published: 8:15pm, 28 Jun 2019Updated: 8:15pm, 28 Jun 2019

Selfies, which have become a global sensation in the last decade or so, have remarkably killed five times more people than shark attacks.

The death toll has crept up incrementally each year as smartphones have become more sophisticated and selfie-sticks increase the range at which people can snap themselves, prompting them to take bigger risks for the perfect shot.

Between October 2011 and November 2017, at least 259 people died taking selfies around the globe, according to a study in India’s Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, compared to just 50 people killed by sharks during the same period.

While women take the most selfies, young men, who are more prone to take risks, make up three-quarters of the selfie deaths – in drownings, crashes, falls and shooting accidents.

A couple taking a selfie in Mumbai, India, where selfie deaths eclipse numbers in other countries. Photo: EPA

India, with a population of more than 1.3 billion who own 800 million cell phones, holds the record for the number of people dying in the act of photographing themselves, with 159 recorded so far.

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