Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

When we take pictures, we want to capture a moment of our lives, something that we can cherish later.

With the advent of smart phones equipped with cameras, taking ‘selfies’ has become a crazy fad throughout the word.

The term “selfie” has become so engrained in our daily vocabularies that even the prestigious Oxford Dictionary introduced “selfie” as word of the year in 2013.

A Guinness World Record belongs to 43-year-old actor Dwayne Johnson, who captured a total of 105 selfies within three minutes on the red carpet with excited movie fans.

“Selfie mania” can be considered the most appropriate term for the trend, which has become an integral part of modern life.

Some upload their photos in social networks just to share their experiences with friends and family, while others post an excessive amount of selfies only to feed their narcissism and seek attention. There are also those who are influenced solely by fads.

However, it is hard to believe that the hobby, which at first glace seems relatively harmless, can actually be a dangerous.

Since the glamour of taking selfies has eroded over time, many thrill-seekers look to find newer and riskier ways of take these photos. In the last few years, people have sought to concentrate on the background of the selfie, rather than the people in it.

This activity has became so popular that people have begun to take selfies in extremely dangerous places and at frightening heights.

Unfortunately, for some unlucky ones, capturing these moments have become the last activity of their lives..

According to the estimates by the Ukrainian Korrespondent.net web site, some 50 people fell victim to the “death selfie” worldwide in 2015.

Meanwhile, psychotherapist Azad Isazade told echo.az that mortality is always higher among adventure-seekers than ordinary people. “Extreme people need adrenaline. They want to share their extreme achievements with others,” he noted.

Commenting on an issue on how to prevent this terrible phenomenon, the psychotherapist said: “People should realize how dangerous it is, and be more responsible.”

Security expert Kamil Salimov, for his part, considers that taking selfies in extreme conditions is associated with human psychology. He thinks that some people resort to extremes to find psychological comfort. “Once trying it, he wants to do it again and again,” he said.

Meanwhile, a new program in Russian schools will teach students how to take proper photographs without risking physical harm. The lessons will be provided by teachers, professional psychologists, photographers, and policemen.

The Russian Education Ministry has approved a suggestion to introduce the new discipline after more than 10 deaths and about 100 accidents from individuals trying to take a photo of themselves in a compromising position this year. Thus, “safety selfie” lessons will be taught in the school curriculum for the pupils of 4-9 forms at least twice a month, or once a week.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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