This week's article discussed how there is more of a risk of dying taking a selfie than from a shark attack. The way it backs up its claims is a little misleading. If the same amount of people die while taking a selfie in their living room as when they are ten feet from a bear, then, yes, I could accept the viewpoint of the article. However, correlation does not indicate causation. The article seems to indicate that selfies in and of themselves are hazardous because of the risky behavior they cause people to adapt. However, in reality, if you are within close proximity to a bear, you will likely die whether you are taking a selfie, singing a ballad, or just standing there silently having an existential crisis. The article was meant to point out the rarity of deaths by shark attack as well, but there are important differences between the two subjects. If you are taking a selfie somewhere dangerous, you have made a choice, a very bad choice, to do so. However, shark attacks cause more general fear, because you expect to be safe at the beach. It is a vacation spot, there are laughing families about, and you expect the protocols in place to sort of ensure your safety. Thus, when danger still surfaces, the fear and feelings of insecurity are much more abundant.
Monsters
Comments
Cathryn Hickey
Sep 30, 2015
I completely agree. People do stupid and dangerous things all of the time, but now that we have such portable, convenient cameras, it can all be documented unlike before when if you did something dangerous and died it was your fault, not the cameras. While taking selfies can make a person more distracted from the looming danger around them, they don't seem to cause death. I don't think people just sitting at home using their cameras die from selfies.