Every month in 2019, someone has been critically injured or died while attempting to take a selfie.

In April, a 20-year-old university student fell about 100 feet to her death while hiking on a class trip to the Ozarks. In March, an international tourist who was in his 50s fell hundreds of feet into the canyon while attempting to snap a photo at Eagle Point.

In February, a Texas teen managed to survive a 50-foot fall from a bridge while taking a selfie, according to local media. And in January, a man died after falling off the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland while trying to snap a photo. His body was retrieved from the water below the cliffs via helicopter, according to the Irish Times.

At which beauty landmark in Ireland, did a man die whilst taking a selfie?

As the self-snapped photos have increased in popularity so has the pressure to capture a death-defying picture that can take the internet by storm.

That's what birthed the "killfie."

A killfie is a selfie you take in a risky or astonishing position at a dangerous location, and sadly the trend has led to a rise in actual selfie deaths, a 2018 study found.

Researchers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi found 259 people died while attempting to take a selfie between October 2011 and November 2017. Deaths rose from two reported in 2011 to 98 in 2016. The number of selfie deaths last year dipped to 93, the study said. Findings were published in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.

According to this part of the article, what is a killfie?

What drives people literally to the edge for a photo?

It varies. Balick says people could be blinded by "the perceived need of their imagined audience."

"For most people, their survival instinct will supersede their validation instinct. For others, the opportunity for a photo supersedes personal safety at that moment. It's almost like you get possessed."

Social media is home to an endless number of selfies that can get people into trouble, and safety officials worldwide have taken notice.

The U.S. Forest Service now warns against bear selfies or photos with wild bears in the background. Yellowstone has created a list of places not to take selfies, such as next to a geyser or on the edge of a canyon.

When taking a selfie, what two things does the expert in this article say supersedes our instincts for survival and personal safety?

Why do we take selfies in the first place?

Experts say that the behaviour can be rooted in a form of narcissism that's directly connected to the human ego.

"We all have an ego. We all need recognition from peers and when people take selfies, it's generally to fulfill the ego's need for recognition and validation," Balick said.

"Validation is like a pat on the back. It’s like a well done or a 'you’re pretty' or 'you’re smart.' It’s a thumbs up. That's what really gets you in trouble when you need recognition but you seek validation."

One of the motivations for posting images online centres around presenting positive versions of ourselves to the outside world.

According to this article, why do people take selfies?

The researchers broke the motivations down into the following categories:

Attention seeking – taking and posting selfies to feel more popular.

Mood modification – has been described by Griffiths (2005) as an experience that makes someone feel better and is part of what defines addiction.

Self-confidence - the taking selfies may increase the self-confidence of those who engage in this behavior.

Social competition - posting selfies to get likes on social media or taking selfies to increase one’s social status.

Subjective conformity – referring to an individual’s tendency to copy what others do.

Environmental enhancement – taking selfies to create memories or trophies of oneself.

Which of the following is NOT given as a reason for taking selfies in the article?

Rise of the selfieCamera pioneer Robert Cornelius is widely credited with taking the first photo of himself in 1839, though whether or not it was a true "selfie" is debatable.

"Cornelius would probably have had an assistant make the exposure," said historian and director general of the Royal Photographic Society. At best, it would be "considered a self-portrait. Selfie is stretching the definition."

The selfie, as it's known today, first took off in 2005, with the usage of MySpace, and the trend has only grown in popularity since then. In 2013, the term “selfie” was added to the dictionary – which signified its prevalence in modern culture.

The duck face, the fish gape, the smize – these are just a few of the facial expressions and poses that the masses have adopted over the years as occasional selfies have evolved into normal lifestyle impulses.

According to this article, when did the selfie craze take off?

Selfie surgery

Millennials alone are on track to take an average of 25,000 selfies in a lifetime, according to Samsung. That's approximately one selfie a day during an average lifespan.

Experts say that obsessively curating our social media profiles and using filters is changing our perception of ourselves. And selfie-culture is putting so much pressure on beauty standards that it 's driving people to seek cosmetic procedures to look more like their digital selves.

At its most extreme, this fixation on appearance can manifest in a mental health condition that's being referred to as "Snapchat dysmorphia."

"This is based on negative social comparison, which has always happened," Balick said.

"Before, it was pictures in magazines that people were worried about triggering disorders like anorexia. But what makes today worse is that people are looking at (triggering images) throughout the day on social media, and it follows them around everywhere. It's in your pocket."

According to this article, what is the 'Snapchat Dysmorphia' based on?

Self Love is Important

Margarita Tartakovsky, associate editor and body image advocate at PsychCentral.com:

If we're taking a photo of ourselves, we're seeing ourselves. Really seeing. We're listening, too. We're acknowledging.

While not everyone is a huge fan of staring at themselves in the mirror or taking dozens of photos of their face, it has been argued that snapping selfies can actually be quite therapeutic.

In fact some people even argue that the hospital selfie can be more helpful than harmful, normalizing stigmas and helping people who have gone through surgery realize that their scars, pain, and healing isn't abnormal or strange.

What two reasons does this expert give for selfies being positive? Check 2 boxes.

Fun Fun Fun

If we're looking for a non-practical reason for the selfie, it's probably this: THEY'RE SO MUCH FUN!

Selfies can honestly be a blast-and-a-half to take. Whether you're by yourself at home jamming out to the new Beyoncé song and really feelin' yourself and decide to snap a few mirror selfies, or you're out with a bunch of friends and want to remember the moment, or you're at a family party and simply love how adorable you and all your cousins look, the selfie has you covered.

Once you say the words 'Let's take a selfie!' you'll have people running in from all directions to squeeze into frame to capture that feel-good moment forever.

What reason does this part of the article give for selfies being good?