Being self(ie)-destructive

Jasmine Singh

The latest campaign on Facebook garnering immense support is the Safe Selfie Campaign. Thankfully, this one doesn’t ask you to kill your narcissist streak, it only appeals to you to be a safe narcissist.

Jokes apart! With people often putting themselves in danger to click the perfect selfie, this campaign holds even more relevance. A couple of days back, a teenage boy died accidentally shooting himself in the head while taking a selfie. Fifteen-year-old Ramandeep Singh was posing with his father’s .32 calibre pistol on Friday evening when he accidentally pulled the trigger. Quiet a big price for a perfect picture. So that you don’t end up paying such a huge price for a small click, here are some ‘please avoid’ tips, if you care to consider!

The highs and lows

Three girls falling from Mumbai’s band stand while taking selfies, another one falling into a canal in Haryana while doing the same, points towards the careless attitude, and being unaware of the danger such acts can put one into. Freelance photographer from Chandigarh, Love Dixit, understands this craze, at the same time suggests..., “Do not take a selfie on a high cliff, mountain or at high altitude,” he says. Love also tells us the one time that you should never take a selfie is, “While driving, even when you catch the ‘hot’ image of you in the rear view, do not take any selfie.”

Wild encounters

Like us animals are also totally unpredictable. You never know one of them decides to turn the tables on you! Actor-photographer Sanam Iqbal from Patiala gives a hands-down when it comes to taking selfies with animals, no matter how cute they look.

A lesson or two

Carelessness while taking a selfie can result in fatal accidents. Looking into this, The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has initiated a campaign to increase awareness about selfie related accidents and educate youngsters on how to take selfies near beaches, forts, valleys and cliffs without courting danger.

Rajnish Kumar from Chandigarh is doing the same through online media. The young entrepreneur is posting videos of how to take safe selfies. Rajnish is also compiling the spots in Chandigarh and Punjab where one should avoid selfies. Standing on the brick wall of Sukhna Lake is one spot, Timber Trail, Monkey Point in Kasauli, Neelo pull in Ludhiana are some places he names to be dangerous.