Let’s face it, kids these days love taking selfies and sharing their photos with their friends. However, there’s an alarming trend of selfies taken from dangerous places. In this case, one young girl’s extreme selfie was the last one she ever took.
She lost her balance and fell
The 12-year-old girl from Russia, known only as Oksana B, died after falling from a 17th floor balcony. She was apparently sitting on the railing when she lost her balance and fell. Sources also say that she sent the photo to a friend right before she fell.
Photo from: Youtube.com/FTD News
She initially told her mother that she was going out for a walk, but she planned to take the extreme selfie. Her friend saw the photo she sent and immediately tried to call her since she saw that Oksana’s photo was taken in a dangerous place. When she wasn’t answering, she sent the photo to Oksana’s mother.
Sadly, it was too late. Her body was found by a witness who then reported it to the police. The photo that she took hasn’t been published.
Oksana’s uncle shares, “She was such a friendly girl. She was a good pupil, she had no problems at school. She took dance classes and English classes.”
“She had so much to live for and now she has lost her life to the craze of looking to do extreme selfies for social media. There can be no other reason why she climbed over the damned handrail.”
Extreme selfies are becoming a problem
In the last couple of years, extreme selfies have become a global phenomenon. With more and more people trying to outdo everyone else by taking more and more extreme selfies. However, this craze hasn’t been without its casualties. In another similar case in Russia, a 17-year-old teenager named Andry Retrovesky died after falling from the rooftop of a nine-story building.
An increase in the number of selfie-related deaths in Russia has made the Russian government create a campaign that explains when you should and shouldn’t take selfies. Extreme selfie deaths have also happened in other countries, and in spite of these deaths, teens are still in pursuit of the “perfect selfie”
Selfie safety
Here are some important selfie safety tips that aren’t only helpful for kids and teenagers, but also for you. Make sure to keep these things in mind when taking selfies:
- Never show or post any personal information online. These clues can be used by criminals to track them.
- Make sure that your children are using the correct privacy settings whenever they post photos.
- Never take selfies while driving, or in dangerous places like on top of a building. No selfie is worth the risk.
- Your child or teen should never post anything on social media that they don’t feel comfortable sharing with other people.
- Make sure that you know what photos your kids are posting online. If you see that they’re sharing inappropriate or unsafe photos, talk to them about it.
Sources: yahoo.com, bbc.co.uk, resources.uknowkids.com
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