Which came first: the selfie or the conceitedness? The idea of selfies has gone way too far, to the point where people are not only endangering the lives of themselves and those around them, but they are slowly becoming more self-absorbed. There was a time when people could take a photo of a moment and move on, but advancements in technology and hit songs such as “First Let Me Take a #Selfie” has changed the entire meaning of a photo. It has gone from being an innocent action to a competition of who can be caught taking the most interesting photo.

Reckless behavior on social media has been documented, from child endangerment to criminal acts that have gotten people arrested. In February, a teenager from Pennsylvania was accused of murder after taking a selfie with a person he recently shot and uploading it to Snapchat. According to the Washington Post,  “District Attorney John Peck told the Tribune-Review that during his 30-year career he’s never known of a killer who took a self-portrait with the victim.”

In recent news, a man could lose his arm from attempting to take a selfie with a rattlesnake. He encountered a 4-foot rattlesnake and instead of walking away, he decided to pose with it, resulting in a trip to the hospital.

Selfies are not worth your life. You can have a blast with friends and be safe as well. You don’t have to be doing something overly exciting in order for it to be a great photograph. You don’t have to take a selfie of every single moment in your life. Not only is it annoying, it also doesn’t allow you to genuinely enjoy the moment if you have to take time to pull out your phone and take a picture. Some moments should simply be remembered, not photographed.