In the most recent case, a 15-year-old boy drowned while taking a selfie in Bharatpur in the state of Rajasthan.
The boy, Hariom Saini, was trying to take a selfie near a pond, where he had gone with his friends for a swim, but he slipped and fell into the pond. His friends tried to help him but the pond was deep and Hariom couldn’t be saved.
In fact, selfie-related deaths in India are the highest in the world, followed by similar deaths in Pakistan, the United States and Russia, said a study conducted by Carnegie Mellon University. It said 127 people died between March 2014 and September 2016 while taking selfies.
"Indians are crazy about taking selfies and posting on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter," psychologist Nisha Khanna told Sputnik. "Youth often risk their lives to take exceptional selfies. In fact, the selfie craze is so [strong] that earlier last month some women constables were suspended after they took a selfie in the back-drop a rape victim. In fact, India is in the grip of a selfie mania and it is now becoming psychological, therefore teens should be advised to stay away from taking ‘killfies’. There is also a need to counsel these selfie addicts,” Nisha Khanna concluded.
Apart from the fatal selfie, excessive smartphone usage is taking its toll in India as well. With smartphone addiction, ailments like migraine are becoming increasingly common among teenagers.
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