The selfie age is on and still going strong. Influencers from all over the world go to great lengths to entertain their million plus fans, but at what cost? On Tuesday, a woman plummeted 100 feet to her death after taking a selfie for social media. Social media validation is seemingly the center of global existence. Everyday, millions of members upload selfie pics of food, shopping endeavors, even counting toes on their new baby’s feet. Social media provides intimate interaction with people you’ve never met, and will probably never meet. Of course, most are impressed with the ventures of their favorite influencer; however, how tragic is it to hear of them dying to impress others?
Social Media And The Claim To Fame
Far too many social media induced deaths are absurd and senseless. Nonetheless, it still seems to be an issue among this era’s societal pressure. Social pressure requires perfection, to the point where users are undergoing great, life-altering changes to impress the people who admire them, in addition to those who don’t care for them as much. The fad, once innocent and informing is now deadly as more and more influencers fall victim to social media validation.
Selfies and Death Statistics
Instagram is probably one of the leading social media sites where influencers collect million of followers. According to BBC News, between 2011 and 2017, a global study revealed 259 accidental deaths occurred due to taking selfies. The study reports most of the cases were falls, but some were as grim as death by animals, electrocution, drowning and fire.
Zoe Snoecks
According to New York Post, 33-year-old Belgium native met her demise this Tuesday after taking a selfie for her followers. Her husband, Joeri Janssen, took the photos of his wife standing on a cliff. He recalled her last words, “watch out for the dogs’. I turned to the dogs, after turning back, she was gone. In a split second. He reported not hearing a scream or any rustling, only dust.
He then reported the lack of service to contact an emergency team. Then he finally reached them, but he barely spoke French.
The influencer fell off of the precipice, not far from the village of Nadrin, in the Province of Luxembourg. A team of rescuers recovered her body from the Ourthe River.
Janssen recalls not being able to understand the rescuers; although, he understood that his wife was dead.
