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Trying for the perfect selfie can lead to extreme risk-taking

VANCOUVER — Rushing waters and craggy cliffs are among British Columbia’s most sought-after selfie backdrops, but trying for the perfect shot can lead to extreme risk-taking.

VANCOUVER — Rushing waters and craggy cliffs are among British Columbia’s most sought-after selfie backdrops, but trying for the perfect shot can lead to extreme risk-taking.

Social media users are constantly competing for the attention of their peers in the form of likes and comments on platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat, said Eric Li, an assistant professor of management at the University of British Columbia.

“Seeking the perfect selfie is connected with building confidence, especially among young people,” he said. “In our digital culture, the pictures and stories that we share are a very important part of our social identity.”

But taking an attention-grabbing selfie or video can lead people to pose in some death-defying circumstances, which has led to injury and death. Researchers have identified dozens of selfie-related deaths, many of them by fall, drowning, electrocution and car accident.

Snapchat was widely criticized for introducing the “MPH” filter that allows users to superimpose the speed they are travelling over their selfies, which may have encouraged some people to see how fast they could drive while taking a picture.

A motorist tried unsuccessfully to sue Snapchat after he was struck by a car allegedly driven by a woman trying to snap her own picture while driving 172 km/h.

“These competitions are getting pushed to the extreme and a lot of risky behaviours are coming up as a result,” said Li.

Three people died Tuesday after entering the water at the top of Shannon Falls, a popular location for selfie seekers.

One of the victims — Vancouver adventure vlogger Ryker Gamble — has been banned from U.S. federal lands after going out of bounds in Yellowstone National Park.

There is no indication any of the victims engaged in risky behaviour, but the area has become internationally famous and is increasingly popular as a place to take breathtaking selfies.

Nearly 24,000 pictures have been posted to Instagram with the hashtag #shannonfalls and most of them are selfies taken in and around the area’s rushing waters and rugged terrain.

Thousands more selfies have been uploaded with the hashtag #stawamuschief, many of them depicting people posing or balancing on the peak of the popular hiking mountain a short walk from the falls. From the top of The Chief, it is a 700-metre fall to the waters of Howe Sound.

The District of North Vancouver has posted red warning signs with a blunt message warning people not to jump off the cliffs at Lynn Canyon. Eight people have died jumping there over the past 30 years, most before the age of social media.

Peter Chow-White, a professor at the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University, doubts that many people are taking greater risks specifically to attract attention on social media.

“There may be an increase in some ways, because there are Instagram channels and people do things to gain followers,” he said. “Does everybody? I doubt it.”

It is difficult to determine whether more people are taking risks or we are simply more aware of their antics due to the nature of new media, he said.

Like cliff-jumping, kids doing crazy stunts is not new.

“The sexy story is that kids are doing stupid things because of social media,” he said. “The truth is that they are making pictures and video because that’s a completely normal thing for them to do.”

North Shore Rescue’s Curtis Jones warned about the effect influencers have on young people in a blog post.

“These Instagram posts and website articles, while very enticing, rarely speak to the planning and preparation needed to make your own outing a safe one,” he wrote. “In fact, in many cases they may be extremely misleading regarding the level of difficulty, danger, and the amount of preparation required.”

While men between 15 and 25 are usually the greatest risk-takers, the lure of social media stardom leads women to take physical risks, too.

Researchers in Britain and India — which leads the world in selfie-related deaths — described three tiers of selfie obsession from “borderline” to “chronic” in a study published in the International Journal of Mental Health. “Selfitis” sufferers were described as attention seekers, who may lack self-confidence.