Every single leap through the corridors of technology brings along some associated changes in the cultural setup of the society. Example, of course, is the journey of phones. First it was the bulky and clumsy landline telephones, which transitioned into the revolutionary mobile phones (which we call ‘feature’ phones today) and now we have the smarter, ‘smartphones’.
First, it was just a ‘camera’ in the phone that charmed the users, and now we have a ‘rear’ camera and a ‘front’ camera. Dual camera, huh? All of this has escalated pretty fast, in just the last decade.
With the advent of ‘front’ cameras in smartphones, came probably the coolest 21st century invention- ‘selfie’! Now we also have its cousins ‘groupfie’, ‘belfie’, ‘birthie’, ‘celebrie’ and ‘hellfie’. (now go running to Google for the terms!)
And now read these:
“Man Crushed to Death while taking Selfie with Elephants”
“Two slipped and Drowned while taking Selfie at waterfall”
“18-year-old Washed Away by High-Tide While Taking Selfie”
“Student falls off Train while trying to take Selfie”
It’s not uncommon to hear of such cases nowadays. People are taking selfies over high tides, in front of trains, in front of a herd of elephants and what not. From the point that selfie was a way to capture moments and emotions, it has reached a stage where selfie has become an addiction. The craze of selfies these days is so overbearing that people are ready to go to places where they would otherwise dread to, just for that one click that will make them the social media sensation for the next couple of weeks.
The risk to life is, however, not the only thing that crazy selfie love brings along. It also risks your lifestyle.
Humans have always been highly obsessed with their physical appearance and beauty, and the selfie culture has only added fuel to that fire. It has become the single most used way to bring out your physics and get others to notice it. Essentially, this addiction leads further to bigger, scarier problems like narcissism, anxiety, and other mental and emotional disorders. What’s worse? The event of not being able to click that spot-perfect click, or not getting enough likes on social media sometimes even leads to suicidal thoughts. One starts to hate oneself, and doubt one’s own physical appearance. The situation is that bad. It’s dreadful.
It’s really terrifying to see people risk their lives for this single, least important entity called selfie. But why? Why are people going to places that they otherwise would dread to, for selfies. Is it really that important? Is it something worth risking your life for? Why then?
-Vaibhav Jain
Edited by Mrinaal Datt
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