With the advent of social media, people have unknowingly put themselves in risk while taking selfies at popular destinations to get likes. The chase and the fun of taking risky selfies have taken precedence over safety. Over 250 people have died in tragic accidents while attempting to take selfies in exotic destinations in the last six years. Owing to the dangerous trend, one Irish politician is stepping up to take measures to protect tourists.
According to Lonely Planet, the Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Jim Daly, introduced a new proposal to install “selfie seats” at popular tourist destinations around Ireland.
‘Selfie seats’ proposed at popular destinations to protect tourists from risky photo ops https://t.co/z1vr1dR71J pic.twitter.com/MU42tVn9sS
— Travel + Leisure (@TravelLeisure) February 7, 2019
Daly feels that installing designated spaces to sit or stand – ‘selfie seats’ will help prevent such accidents and reduce the risk while taking photos. He also said that these assigned places could also be used as a marketing tool as it would be helpful in guiding people to the destinations and serve as indicators for locations like Cliffs of Moher, the Beacon in Baltimore and Mizen Head.
Earlier, with the rise of ‘selfie deaths,’ some researchers had called for places to be ‘no selfie zones’ at tourist destinations to prevent more accidents from taking place. Just last year in October an Indian couple was attempting to take a selfie on a cliff at Yosemite National Park when they plunged to their deaths in a tragic accident.
Here is hoping this new proposal minimizes the dangers while taking selfies for social media.
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