Russian PSA: Quit It With The Selfies If You Want To Live

Too Much Free Time

from the in-mother-russia-selfie-takes-you dept

Thu, Jul 9th 2015 1:50pm — Timothy Geigner

The global war on selfies continues on. The first salvo was launched here in America, with many institutions banning selfie sticks for any number of reasons (mostly safety). But our inoculation has failed and the scourge of the selfie has spread to Mother Russia, infecting the youth there at what is apparently insane levels, considering some of the suggestions in this Russian pamphlet detailing how not to die for a sweet selfie.

Now, I don't speak Russian, so I'm relying on the pictures and some translation work done by Gawker here, but the lesson I'm learning from this message from the Russian government is that the Russian people are awesome. Are there, for instance, Russians popping wheelies on their boats while taking selfies? Are they regularly reaching out to pet Siberian tigers with a camera phone in their other hand? Are they train dodging while selfie-ing?!? If so, the Russian youth are exactly my kind of awesome.

The Russian government, of course, disagrees.

That warning comes after a string of recent selfie-related accidents. In May, a 21-year-old woman accidentally shot herself in the head in Moscow while taking a selfie holding a pistol. She suffered injuries but survived. In January, two young men died in the Urals while taking a selfie holding a hand grenade with the pin pulled out. The mobile phone with the selfie survived as a record. In May, a teenager in the Ryazan region died while attempting to photograph himself as he climbed on a railway bridge and accidentally came into contact with live electrical wires.

“Unfortunately we have noted recently that the number of accidents caused by lovers of self-photography is constantly increasing,” said Yelena Alexeyeva, an aide to the interior minister. “Since the beginning of the year we are talking about some hundred cases of injuries for sure.”

And apparently the cure for the Russian selfie scourge is bland government pamphlets that include such memorably punchy lines as, "A selfie in the street? You may catch more than clicks", and, "Selfie on the roof -- it'll be a high fall." If these are the best tools we have in the war on the selfie, it's probably just better that we all admit defeat and embrace the sweet death that will come upon us soon. The only question now is how to get a sweet selfie of myself dying from getting a sweet selfie?

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: psa, russia, selfies

25 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Mason Wheeler (profile), 9 Jul 2015 @ 2:09pm

In May, a 21-year-old woman accidentally shot herself in the head in Moscow while taking a selfie holding a pistol. She suffered injuries but survived. In January, two young men died in the Urals while taking a selfie holding a hand grenade with the pin pulled out. The mobile phone with the selfie survived as a record. In May, a teenager in the Ryazan region died while attempting to photograph himself as he climbed on a railway bridge and accidentally came into contact with live electrical wires.

First thing that goes through my mind when I read this is: a bunch of people in a nation well known for having a serious collective drinking problem pull the kinds of stupid stunts that start to look like a good idea when you're impaired, and they decide to take pictures of themselves while doing these stupid things that end up killing them... and the problem is the cameras?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Baron von Robber, 9 Jul 2015 @ 2:12pm

Dear Russia,

I know you've had a fondness for Lysenkoism but Darwin was really right.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2015 @ 2:14pm

I believe that the train-dodging thing is a reference to the girl who electrocuted herself on a third rail while trying to get a dramatic selfie.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/russia-attempted-selfie-causes-death-teenager-xenia-ignatyeva-144563 7

Also, Russia does have a fad of people getting selfies while hanging, one-handed, off of skyscrapers. A PSA under those circumstances actually seems like a fairly measured reaction.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2015 @ 2:18pm

At least people will now have some final moments pictures before receiving the Darwin awards.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
jameshogg (profile), 9 Jul 2015 @ 2:46pm

"Any selfies of you looking sad next to evidence of war crimes by Russian troops and paramilitaries in Eastern Ukraine may endanger your body by exposing it to bullets. Russia Today will subsequently publish a forged selfie of you showing how it was all your fault."
[ link to this | view in thread ]
John Fenderson (profile), 9 Jul 2015 @ 3:06pm

Why focus on the selfies?
It looks like real problem is people doing things that are dangerous whether taking a selfie is involved or not. They're awesome things, yes, but dangerous.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Greevar (profile), 9 Jul 2015 @ 3:28pm

Re: Why focus on the selfies?
I was thinking the exact same thing. Stupid people doing dangerous things are stupid regardless of the selfie. Case closed.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2015 @ 5:07pm

that's a relief; i was getting worried that stupid people only lived in the usa
[ link to this | view in thread ]
DarwinAwards.com, 9 Jul 2015 @ 5:07pm

Russia,

Keep up the good work!

Editors,
DarwinAwards.com
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Jake, 9 Jul 2015 @ 5:11pm

Re:
Alcoholism is a cultural problem the Russians have had for so long that it's something they just have to put up with. The selfie craze isn't quite so entrenched yet.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Shmerl, 9 Jul 2015 @ 7:45pm

Re:
I guess you meant Mendel, not Darwin?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2015 @ 8:50pm

Stop waving that selfie stick around you'll poke someone's eye out!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Jul 2015 @ 1:14am

Photos or it didn't happen.
The ability to prove that they did a stupid thing can encourage them to try.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Jul 2015 @ 1:30am

Re:
Have you forgotten Jackass? Bam and the guys were SOBER 99% of the time.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Jul 2015 @ 1:31am

Re:
NATO warmonger detected.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Sheogorath (profile), 10 Jul 2015 @ 3:44am

In January, two young men died in the Urals while taking a selfie holding a hand grenade with the pin pulled out.
And if these fools had been photographed by someone else, that would have been a third person who died. So a selfie basically saved someone's life. Who knew?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Boris Cherkov, 10 Jul 2015 @ 5:51am

Ban it!
This cultural excrement, known as "selfies," should be banned! It has become the new litmus test, replacing mouth-breathing, for measuring whether one has enough brain power to walk on two legs.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
zboot (profile), 10 Jul 2015 @ 9:23am

Hmm, I've got some pamplet ideas
If you take a selfie running in front of a bus, you will get tired.
If you take a take selfie running behind a bus, you will get exhausted.
If you take a selfie in cathouse, you will soon find yourself in doghouse.
If you take a selfie shooting off your mouth, you may find yourself losing face.
A selfie jumping off a cliff is a leap to conclusion.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Uriel-238 (profile), 10 Jul 2015 @ 10:53am

Maybe the Russian high-risk selfie craze will put US teen sexts in perspective.
I mean if your choice was your child taking nudie selfies or your child taking selfies in which she can easily die, which would it be?

In the late 80s, pretty much most of the fear of Satanic death metal subsided as the gangsta rap about shooting cops and fucking bitches (That's having sex with women, not deriding women and then shooting them) started becoming popular amongst young people.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Jul 2015 @ 10:53am

Obligatory
In Soviet Russia selfies take you!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Uriel-238 (profile), 10 Jul 2015 @ 11:45am

Life is risk. Selfies are sharing.
I have a parent who was very much in to one of the more socially accepted forms of daredevilry (There are tall mountains far away from civilization. Mom would act often on the urge to go climb to the top of them). And Mom dragged along a high-powered camera and took many pictures, including more than a few selfies accomplished by an exposure timer.

For some adventurers, like Mom, there is some measure of accepted risk. Death is inevitable, and risking our lives by positioning ourselves deep in the wilds, or plummeting from an airplane or hurtling at high speeds along a racetrack (or -- and this is insane -- down the snowdrifts of a steep mountainside) can give us a stronger sense of control of the manner in which we die, or if not yet, the manner in which we live. Or in my experience with downhill skiing raise the question of why, in the name of all things holy and cosmic, we do the things we do.

My own experiences in the bush (as a child) have given me a greater appreciation for the comforts of urban life. Hot water, toilet paper, food at every street corner, internet access from anywhere, convenient bus stops and frequent buses -- these are enjoyable in sharp relief when contrasted to the deep wilds where we have only what we've been carrying. And that is before we venture into rough terrain and harsh elements.

Granted, some people are not fully aware of the risks they take. Mom once got to see a man fall off a cliffside and bounce against the rock face. It took almost a day for a helicopter to be summoned, by which time he was dead for want of emergency medical facilities, and even cold thanks to the frigid temperatures. I'm pretty sure during this incident Mom gained much awareness of her mortality -- and reconsidered her mountaineering lifestyle. She continued to climb anyway.

But I think the danger is going to happen because humans are something of a wild, crazy and risk-taking bunch. Selfies allow us to show those times we lived. And reflect on those of us who didn't.

Also, I should add, when it comes to dangerous game hunting, selfies are easier on the bears.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
GEMont, 10 Jul 2015 @ 1:57pm

Ok, now to take the sho.. (splat)
Ah! Selfies.

Praise Darwin! :)

---
[ link to this | view in thread ]
JP Jones (profile), 10 Jul 2015 @ 1:58pm

Huh, the first thing I thought was "glad Russia has all those super-effective gun control laws!"

Maybe if she actually knew how to handle a gun she'd still be alive. Also, who gives someone a loaded, racked pistol for a picture shoot?

Guns don't kill people. Ignorant morons that use guns without learning basic safety rules kill people*.

* Before the anti-gun nuts get started, psychos will kill people regardless, as Russia's high murder rate even without guns shows.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Jul 2015 @ 10:30pm

Kremlin shill detected
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Uriel-238 (profile), 11 Jul 2015 @ 2:24am

Speaking of bear selfies
Here in the US, ranger stations are posting PSAs about taking selfies dangerously close to bears, specifically Don't. You may die.
[ link to this | view in thread ]