India accounted for about half of the selfie-related fatalities in the world according to a 2015 report, including the death of college students trying to take a selfie in front of a speeding train. The trend continued in 2016 with people time and again putting their life at risk for a selfie, some drowning in the process in Mumbai.
But despite the alarm bells ringing loud and clear, the selfie crazy has reared its ugly head in the most bizarre manner in Kerala, where a man’s selfie with an injured tribal youth, whose hands were tied up and who later died after being allegedly beaten up by a mob has gone viral on social media triggering all round outrage.
Investigations into the selfie as well as videos of the torture doing the rounds are on to nab the culprits, but the pertinent question here is: Are people now willing to go to inhuman lengths for 15-minutes of fame on the social media? Is Selfitis breeding a malignant strain of apathy? Has humanity fallen way below the sanity line in this expression of narcissism?
Oxford officially named ‘Selfie’ word of the year in 2013, and according to a report 91% of teenagers have done the “duck-face” at some point of time, giving in probably to the inherent desire “to be noticed, appreciated and recognized.” Workplace studies on employee satisfaction also point to a direct connection between lack of appreciation and attrition.
Are such online quick fixes the solution then for a population carving attention? If yes, where does one draw the line?
Twenty-seven-year old Madhu will never know, even as the authorities decry the killing, calling it a heinous crime that would not be tolerated and promising “strict action against the guilty,” in a Facebook post.
The incident however is yet another wake up call. A peek into the dark underbelly of social media, that is today emerging as a double-edged weapon in imprudent hands.