We live in a society of social media addicts, and who doesn’t love getting a nice picture to upload onto their feed, especially abroad. Personally, I like getting a cute picture in the sun and I love a good backdrop. However, recent fatal accidents have highlighted a new danger for social media lovers; the lengths people are willing to go for the perfect photo. Are Instagram travel bloggers and models encouraging everyday people to risk their lives to get a few likes? It is not just the encouragement but, lately, several influencers themselves have been in tragic accidents or injured trying to get that edgy pic.
A case in Yosemite only weeks ago saw a young couple who ran the travel page ‘Holidaysandhappilyeverafters’ fall to their death in Yosemite whilst trying to get a selfie on the cliff edge. It begs the question of whether a picture is really worth your life. In this summer just past, three more young adult Youtube vloggers fell to their fate whilst swimming. Megan Scraper fell down into one of the deeper pools on a dangerous waterfall at Canada’s Shannon Falls, and the other two companions attempted to rescue her from the treacherous fall but all three, unfortunately, did not survive. It is unclear whether they were filming this particular day, but, had filmed cliff diving and other dangerous holiday videos before for their channel ‘High on Life’.
“people have unrealistic expectations as a result of what they see on Instagram”
I think photoshop does nobody any favours; people have unrealistic expectations as a result of what they see on Instagram, which is often simply a clever edit. Furthermore, we have easy access to such great photographic equipment that it can seem as though we are capable of catching shots like we see in National Geographic, however we lack the expertise and necessities actually needed. In summer, 19-year-old Katarina Zarutskie was bitten in the arm whilst posing for a photo in shark-infested waters. She stated that she thought the waters were safe and she would be fine, but she has come under a lot of criticism for believing this. With a world of fake photos out there, can we really blame her?
It is true that a lot of people who risk getting these photos remain unscathed and more often than not these posts, although risky, lead to no injury. It is in the small but drastically rising number of cases where people do in fact get harmed which is concerning. If you think a picture is going to risk your life, is social media really worth it? There is nothing wrong with photos, in fact I am really into my photography, but seriously, think twice about it. Enjoy the moment.
Miriam Thompson
Featured image courtesy of @katarinazarutskie on Instagram.
Article images courtesy of @lensbible @katarinazarutskie and @_bahamasgirl_ on Instagram.
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