Here’s How Many People Have Died From “Selfie-Related” Incidents

Our quest for the most perfect, most epic self portrait can, at times, have drastic results. Last year alone, more people died in selfie-related incidents than from shark attacks. But the stats accumulated over the past three years prove very illuminating. Priceonomics looked at the past three years of news archives for some interesting insights about our sometimes-fatal selfie habit. Of the 49 people who died in selfie-related incidents since 2014, 75% were men and the average age of the person was 21. The youngest age was 14 and the oldest was 32. It would seem that, when it comes to selfies, we do tend to grow older and wiser — or maybe those of us in our 30s and 40s just don't take as many selfies (the 18-to-24-year-old age set snaps them the most). Of the types of selfie deaths that have occurred, falling is the most common actual cause of death (usually off of a cliff or a building). Drowning and train deaths are second and third most common, respectively. It should be noted that no one has actually died from the selfie itself — it's the distraction from their surroundings while trying to take the perfect selfie that does them in. And if you thought the U.S. would be the most popular place where to perish in selfie-seeking glory, you'd be wrong. 40% of selfie-related deaths happened in India (Priceonomics thinks this is related to the country's high fatality rate from drowning). So if you're taking a selfie in the great outdoors, do yourself a favor: Take a good look at your surroundings, get into a safe position, and then break out the phone to snap your photo. If a cliff is right behind you, let a friend do the snapping.