The search for the perfect selfie consumes many social media users. But when does it go too far?
Content creators have been seriously injured, or even killed, while trying to get that once-in-a-lifetime photo. Audacy has reported on a tourist who survived after they were mauled while attempting to take a selfie with a bear and a man who survived falling into Mt. Vesuvius while trying to snap a photo.
In August, Slate reported on a string of selfie-related deaths. Last year, a study concluded that these selfie-related injuries and deaths were becoming a public health problem.
Sam Cornell, a PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales and a co-author of the study titled: “Dangerous Selfies Aren't Just Foolish. We Need To Treat Them Like The Public Health Hazard They Really Are” joined Mike Rogers to explain the risks and why we do it.
“I have seen the classic risky image of people taking a selfie, you know, on an on the edge of a waterfall or a cliff…,” he said. “And, you can't help but see that and think, well, something's going wrong there because that person must know that what they're doing is… is pretty dangerous and likely not worth it, really.”
Each week, “Something Offbeat” takes a deeper look at an unusual headline. If you have suggestions for stories the podcast should cover, send them to us at somethingoffbeat@audacy.com.