Dubai: Everyone wants to get crazy loads of likes on a social media post. And almost everybody does it — whip out a smartphone, snap a photo of oneself. End of story.
For hundreds of people, however, it meant end of life.
A selfie is deemed a rather innocent, even artsy, way of telling others what you're up to.
But when people go to the far extreme with it, trying to get that perfect shot in a precarious situation — next to a moving train, on an awesome view from a stomach-churning height — can be deadly.
Many have paid with dear life taking the most dangerous ones.
Statistically, most selfie deaths came as a result of a fall. This is based on documented reports going back to 2011.
Between 2011 and 2017, 259 people were reportedly killed in selfie-related incidents across the world. They happen in almost every country.
And since then, hundreds more have died taking selfies in dangerous circumstances.
Among the leading causes of reported selfie deaths: Drowning, falls, fires and automobile accidents.
Despite the risks — some psychologists argue it's a new form of addiction — people seem unstoppable in taking downright risky selfies.
The Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care in India revealed that 259 people died in 137 selfie-related accidents between 2011 and 2017, compared to 50 people killed by sharks over the same period.
While 259 deaths over 7 years doesn't sound like a lot, selfie-related deaths are spiking.
In 2011, there were only three, but by 2017, the number of selfie-related deaths approached 100.
But maybe that's the whole point of taking a crazy selfie for some — to live on the edge, and self-document what amounts to self-sabotage.
An unsolicited advice: If you want to take extraordinary selfie, by all means go for it.
But make sure you're not exposing yourself, or your groupie mate, to avoidable danger.
Here's the list of the most recent selfie-related deaths around the world, by date, country, victims and nature:
October 26, 2019 | UAE | 1 | Fall — Sixteen-year-old Dubai girl falls to death from 17th floor of building on Shaikh Zayed Road while taking selfie.
October 7, 2019 | India | 4 | Fall — Wedding guests fall from a dam in India, four drown.
September 3, 2019 | India | 1 | Fall — Woman from Madhya Pradesh fell at least 200 feet to her death, while allegedly clicking a selfie on her way to a temple on a hilltop in Pavagadh hill station.
August 17, 2019 | Australia | 1 | Fall — A 27-year-old woman died after falling from cliff at one of Sydney's most popular selfie spots.
July 16, 2019: Pakistan | 2 | Drowned — A 17-year-old girl slipped while taking a selfie and fell into a river. Her father jumped into the river in an attempt to rescue her, but was also swept away by the flowing water.
July 15, 2019 | Pakistan | 1 | Fall — A college student fell into Kabul River in Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while taking a selfie.
July 14, 2019 | Italy | 1 | Fall — A 22-year-old man died after falling from a cliff with a waterfall.
July 4, 2019 | Spain | 2 | Fall — Two men aged 20 and 25 from Somerset, England died while reportedly taking a selfie on holiday in Spain. They were at Punta Prima Beach, near the town of Torrevieja.
March 9, 2019 | United States | 1 | — Animal — A woman was mauled by a jaguar in Arizona after entering a zoo enclosure to take a selfie. She received non-life-threatening injuries, including a large gash on her arm. Note: Although widely reported as a selfie incident, the victim claimed in a later CBS News interview that she was not taking a selfie, and did not enter the zoo enclosure — she only reached across a below-waist-height concrete planter in front of a much higher fenced enclosure — misleadingly termed "climbing" or "crossing" a barrier.
January 4, 2019 | Ireland | 1 | Fall — A young Indian man died after falling off the Cliffs of Moher, County Clare while taking a photo of himself.
November 12, 2018 | Sri Lanka | 1 | Fall — A German tourist died after stumbling off a cliff in Sri Lanka while taking a photo of herself. The 35-year-old woman was taking pictures with her friend when she fell off the World's End, a sheer cliff about 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) high. The Sri Lankan army and volunteers recovered the body after a six-hour search involving air support and climbing. World's End is located in Horton Plains National Park in central Sri Lanka and is one of the Indian Ocean island's biggest tourist attractions.
October 12, 2018 | Panama | 1 | Fall — A Portuguese woman fell to her death while taking a selfie on the 27th floor balcony of a Panamanian residential building.
19 September 2018 | United States | 1 | Fall — A Californian woman fell to her death while taking selfies on the edge of a 200-foot cliff over Lake Superior at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. [198]
5 September 5, 2018 | United States | 1 | Fall | An Israeli teen fell to his death while trying to take a selfie at Yosemite National Park.
October 25, 2018 | United States | 2 | Fall — Fall An Indian couple fell to their deaths from Taft Point at Yosemite National Park.
July 22, 2018 | Australia | 1 | Fall — A 19-year-old man from West Haven, Utah fell at Cape Solander in Kurnell near Sydney, Australia.
June 12, 2018 | Portugal | 2 | Fall — On the Praia dos Pescadores, Ericeira, Portugal, an Australian couple fell to their deaths when they tried to take a selfie on a 30-meter-high (98 ft) wall.
June 11, 2018 | Indonesia | 1 — Fall A 46-year-old Chinese tourist died after falling into the sea while taking a selfie on a cliff at Devil's Tears on Nusa Lembongan, an island off the coast of Bali.
May 2, 2018 | India | 1 — Animal | In Nabarangpur, Odisha, India, a man tried to take a selfie with a wounded bear and was mauled to death.
April 22, 2018 | Brazil | 3 — Fall |In Castelo do Piauí, Piauí, Brazil A 22-year-old woman and two girls aged 16 and 15 fell from a height of 10 meters while taking a selfie on a bridge in Piauí, Northeast Brazil, when the platform on the side of the bridge collapsed. They suffered fractures.
April 30, 2018 | Brazil | 1 | Fall — At Corumbá Lake in Caldas Novas, Brazil, a 34-year-old man ended up drowning, after falling off a platform in an attempt to take a selfie.
April 20, 2018 | Greece | 1 | Fall — In Keratsini, Greece, a 16-year-old boy died after he fell from a height of 60 meters after climbing on a rock to take a selfie at a park.
March 2018 | United States | 5 | Drowned — Five passengers aboard a sightseeing helicopter (with doors off) drowned after a passenger allegedly tried to take a 'shoe selfie', leading to the passenger's safety tether getting caught in the emergency fuel shutoff lever. A shoe selfie is when the person's shoes can be seen while looking out of the open doorway of a helicopter.
February 9, 2018 | Thailand | 2 | Transport — A 24-year-old Thai woman died as a result of her injuries when a train hit her while attempting to take a photo with an outgoing train in the background near Samsen train station in Bangkok's Phaya Thai District. A man, believed to be a colleague of the victim, was knocked unconscious by the train, suffering a head injury and a broken arm.
January 24, 2018 | India | 1 | Transport — A 22-year-old Indian man was hit by a train while recording a selfie video very close to some train tracks. His selfie video captured the entire incident, showing the man being struck after brazenly ignoring the train's horn. The video released went viral. However, some media are reporting that it was a hoax and that the man is still alive with no injuries.
January 11, 2018 | Colombia | 1 | Fall — In Gámbita, Santander, Colombia, a 19-year-old girl fell while trying to take a selfie at "Manto de la Virgen" falls.
