Com 450, Journal Four, Current Event, Mary Hughes

Premise: In this journal essay I will attempt to show how the selfie culture of today may
be doing more harm than good. People have started to go to extreme lengths just to get
the perfect selfie, often putting other lives at risk.
Tweet: They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but is it really worth a thousand
likes? #EffYourSelfie
Headline: Cause of Death: Selfie
Sub Headline: How far are we willing to go for likes?
Introduction:
In a world where popularity is based off of likes, people have started doing the
most extreme things to obtain them. Since the invention of the front facing camera,
society has created a new trend called a selfie. Instead of just taking a normal selfie
where the main focus is the person taking the picture, a recent trend is taking selfies with
animals and posting them on social media. Sounds innocent enough, but for some of the
animals it isnt. In the process of taking these selfies, it has resulted in the death of many
animals.
Body of Essay
This past February, pictures of a man grabbing a dolphin from the water as he
took a selfie with the mammal started to circulate around Facebook. Although these
images may come off innocent and cute, the reality of the situation is that the dolphin was
then left to die in the sand. Other people standing around jumped at the opportunity to
take a selfie with the dolphin. They all took turns taking pictures and passing the mammal
around so each person could get that perfect picture. They all walked away and posted

their selfies on social media with hopes of receiving thousands of likes, while the dolphin
was stuck on the sand dying.
The dolphin was a La Plata dolphin, also known as Franciscan dolphin because of
their brown-toned skin. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, this species of dolphin has been put on the International Union for
Conservation of Natural Red List of Threatened Species after hundreds of them were
caught in fishermen fillnets in the early 60s. There arent many Franciscan dolphins
swimming in our oceans today, and yet these people ruined the life of one all for a photo
opt. And for what, a picture and some likes?
The Endangered Species Act made it unlawful to import, export, take, transport,
sell, purchase, or receive in interstate or foreign commerce any species listed as
endangered or threatened. The Marine Mammal Protection Act extends protections to
marine mammals, including whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, walrus, manatees, sea
otters, and polar bears. The law states no person shall take, import, transport, purchase,
sell, offer to purchase or sell, any marine mammal or marine mammal product unless
specifically exempted. Maybe people arent aware of these laws or maybe its time they
need to be updated. People need to learn that these animals are not toys. They arent
shiny objects that can be used as a prop in pictures. Its one thing if a person walking on a
beach stumbles upon a beached animal and helps to bring the animal back to safety in the
ocean but to take them from their natural habitat for our entertainment is wrong.
An article posted by Country Living titled; Why Do People Keep Killing Wild
Animals by Taking Selfies With Them?, explains how todays selfie-taking culture has
gotten out of control. Writer Diana Bruk states; As if all of those stories about young

people accidentally falling off of cliffs and buildings in an attempt to take the perfect
selfie werent enough, not theres an increasing number of reports about wildlife dying
as a result of these vain endeavors. Last summer Yellowstone National Park had to put
up a notice prohibiting people from taking selfies with wild animals. This was the result
of an incident that happened where a mother was gored by a bison while she was taking a
selfie with her daughter.
In 2014 alone, 49 people were killed in various attempts to take selfies of
themselves in exotic situations. That number alone means someone has a better chance of
dying from taking a selfie, than being bit by a shark. Are these pictures really worth the
risk? A man in Florida was filmed as he dragged a small shark out of the water just to
take a selfie. He pinned the shark down by its tail and head and smiled as his friend
snapped the picture. Once the man left, of course leaving the shark beached, bystanders
brought the shark back into the water but by then it were too late. Two peacocks died of
shock after tourists taking selfies at a Chinese zoo plucked their feathers. Stories like
these are happening more frequently. This trend has prompted wildlife organizations to
plea with the public to stop using animals as props. How many more wildlife animals
need to be harmed or die before people start getting the hint?
Conclusion:
People are not only putting their own lives at risk but the lives of innocent
animals. All so they can take a picture that will eventually fall to the bottom of the
timeline, be replaced by newer pictures and eventually forgotten just like the animals that
died. How many lives need to be lost before people understand the dangers of taking
these ridiculous pictures? It isnt worth any amount of likes. Maybe new laws need to be

created specifically making it illegal to take pictures with wildlife animals. People
wouldnt kill a baby for a selfie, animals should be no different.

Personal Reflection:
I chose this topic because its something that makes me extremely angry. Living
on Long Island I have the luxury of being surrounded by marine life. I get to see turtles,
and seals being released back into the wild after being rehabilitated. From a young age
Ive always loved and cared for animals very deeply. Before I decided to peruse a career
in production I thought I would be a vet. The idea of having to put an animal to sleep
never tickled my fancy so instead I started to take pictures of them. When I say pictures I
mean pictures showing animals in their natural habitat, where I observe them from a safe
distance. Im all for taking pictures of these beautify animals but the recent trend of
selfies resulting in them dying makes me sick.
When I first heard about the dolphin that died on the beach, and then man in
Florida that pinned the shark down for a picture, all I thought to myself was how if I was
there, the animal would probably still be alive but as far as the person taking the selfie,
well they might not be so lucky. I really dont know how someone can kill an animal just
for a picture. Why cant they just take a picture of the animal doing its thing and move
on? The fact that these situations are increasingly becoming popular scares me. When
searching for information on this topic I found so many examples. Although that was
good for the purpose of this essay, it really was sad.