Horrifically Graphic Reminder of Selfie Dangers

Horrifically Graphic Reminder of Selfie Dangers

Let me give you clear warning: this is not for the faint of heart. Every year, 100s of people are killed or injured in their quest for the perfect selfie. Here is a graphic reminder of how it can all go so wrong.

Whether we like them or not, selfies are part of the photography world. Indeed, in these narcissistic times driven by social media where everyone is the star of their own life movie, there are probably more selfies taken every day than any other type of photo. And with such competition to outdo rivals in the quest for likesĀ and thumbs-ups from strangers, people are going to more dangerous lengths than ever to get a shot unlike any other. Unfortunately, the consequences aren't always positive.

Such was the case recently when Mike Lambresi, a former pro-surfer from California in his 50s, tried to get a shot near a beachside cliff he was visiting. No stranger to danger as a former big-wave surf aficionado, Lambresi edged closer and closer to the cliff's edge until it all went horribly wrong. He slipped and fell and was lucky to survive. Unfortunately, he suffered disturbingly horrific injuries to his foot and heel and has been in the hospital since. He may not keep his foot. Since 2011, there have been over 300 selfie deaths and 1,000s more injuries.

Please let this be a reminder that no photo is ever worth your life.

Iain Stanley's picture

Iain Stanley is an Associate Professor teaching photography and composition in Japan. Fstoppers is where he writes about photography, but he's also a 5x Top Writer on Medium, where he writes about his expat (mis)adventures in Japan and other things not related to photography. To view his writing, click the link above.

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7 Comments

Yes, a totally blurred photo, selfie or not is HORRIFIC!

If you had bothered to follow the link you would see why it is horrific.

First off he was not trying to take a selfie, he was trying to get a different perspective of the beachfront and there were absolutely no cliffs involved, he climbed a few rocks and was unlucky to get this injury from a rather small fall.
This is possibly the most clickbait article yet on Fstoppers.

There are news articles about it that says he was trying to take photos for instagram.. maybe not necessarily selfies, but yeah..

The biggest danger of a selfie is seeing a photo of yourself.

There's one solution - start hating yourself for your own security. Oedipus should stay a Greek ancient story - and put the complex back into pandora's box!

You have the wrong story. Oedipus killed his father and married his mother (without knowing he did). The Oedipus complex refers to boys falling in love with their mothers or with mother figures. Narcissus fell in love with his reflection and pined away and died, staring at his own reflection.