You’re More Likely To Die From Selfies Than Sharks in 2015

Danger at every snap.

Selfies are serious business — fatal, even. According to Mashable, death by selfie has already outpaced death by shark this year in terms of human fatalities.

The latest death by selfie involved a 66-year-old Japanese man, who just had to get that perfect angle during his Taj Mahal visit and subsequently fell down a flight of stairs. Add this to the Romanian girl who electrocuted herself to death while giving her best duck face on top of a train, a 21-year-old South African woman who fell from a cliff, and the student that drowned while selfieing on the beach and we total some 12 deaths so far in 2015. In contrast, vicious sharks have only claimed eight lives so far. 

It’s a big deal, so much so that Russia is urging cell phone wielders to take “safe selfies,” which includes photos that are out of the reach of trains, electrical wires, stairs and without guns. Smart guidelines. Seems like there are things worse than being ignored by Jaromir Jagr.

Photos by Dave Fleetham / Getty Images

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