More people have died taking selfies this year than from shark attacks, according to data scientists.
A whopping 73 people perished after indulging in self portraiture during the first eight months of 2016, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh discovered (via MIT Tech Review).
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Now the students are studying the circumstances behind each death in an effort to create a warning system that could alert folks when their selfie could send them to an early grave.
The team has developed an algorithm which can judge when selfies might be dangerous, which so far has an accuracy of 70%. The idea appears to be to build the algorithm into an app at some point.
During the research, which involved searching global newspaper clippings, the team found height and water (often a combination of the two) are the most common causes of selfie deaths.
That means those snapping self-portraits at the top of cliffs or buildings, or while diving into the sea are most likely to succumb.
Naturally, in the US and Russia, people taking pictures of themselves holding weapons are shooting themselves to death, although we have to assume that Darwin is at work here also.
Strangely enough, the global capital of selfie deaths is India.
“This trend caters to the belief that posing on or next to train tracks with their best friend is regarded as romantic and a sign of never-ending friendship,” the researchers say.
That’s not a bad way to go…apart from the whole being hit by a train thing.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
