There was a very clear menses of time when the selfie – much like the duck face , ortaking photos with iPads– was still a comparatively new phenomenon prostrate to far-flung public derision . Early pioneer of the selfie charge in advance into this intrepid new world even as the residue of us fall back and hurtle self - righteous insult their way . Alas , we all will the Garden finally . We realized that selfies get more like , Kim Kardashian print a book of selfies , and Apple gave us a specific photo album on our iPhones to domiciliate our selfies . We begrudgingly accept them into our cultural vernacular .
But no matter how cool we are with selfies , # DrivingSelfies will never , ever be nerveless . # DrivingSelfies are dumb and grievous , and Instagram should ban them .
According to the NTSA ( that ’s the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration , y' all ) , at any given moment during any return day , 660,000 people are using their phones while they drive . Four in 10 of those people are on societal media . Fourteen percent ofthosepeople are on Instagram , and posting selfies with imbecilic hashtags like # HopeIDon’tDie .
Screenshots via Instagram / Thrillist
Is this OK ? Nope ! Nope , nope , nope .
Arecent study by Auto Insurance Center , which monitored five long time of Instagram posts , come up a monumental capitulum in the usance of driving - related hashtags , like these : # drivingselfie , # selfiewhiledriving , # hopeidontcrash , # ihopeidontcrash , # drivingtowork , # drivinghome , and # drivingtoschool . The study showed an 80 % increase in drive situation from 2014 to 2015 , and this year , drivers have already station more than half of 2015 ’s amount .
I should n’t have to posit the obvious , but I will , for clarity ’s rice beer : using your phone behind the wheel is wildly dangerous ( it ’s shun in 14 states ) . It ’s a huge component in distrait driving , whichkills over eight hoi polloi and injures over 1,000 , per mean solar day , in the US . read a selfie , filter it , caption it , and posting it on Instagram while simultaneously operate a 4,000 pound piece of machinery is a practice that we – the royal we , meaningsociety , but also Instagram as a caller – should n’t be condoning .
The bighearted offenders by far are California , Nevada , Florida , and Hawaii – tardily - living states with plenty of sunshine , scene , and slot auto . specially if you ’re a big dumb holidaymaker or a spring breakers ( driving selfies tend to empale in March ) , I guess it ’s tempting to get a pic of you # livingyourbestlife out on the road . Vermont , Washington , New Jersey , New York , South Dakota , and Arizona round out the top 10 .
Will Instagram do anything about it?
Instagram supervise hashtags and removes incompatible mental object that go against its " Community Guidelines " – which means no nudity or female nipples ( unless it ’s art ! ) or posts that promote hate , violence , or ego - damage . Yes , the effectiveness of this approach is highly deliberate andhas been likened to a Whac - A - Mole game– shun one negative hashtag , and five others pop up . But should n’t a pic that risks the lifespan of others be lumped under the harmful , out or keeping , straight - up idiotic category ?
A distaff nipple set just zero people in peril , but the same can not be sound out of a drive selfie . accord to AAA , snapping a selfie take your optic off the road for two second gear – the time it direct your car to travel the distance of two hoops tribunal at 60 mph . But when ’s the last sentence you took justoneselfie ? Odds are you ’re taking one , change pose , take like 12 more , then closely examining them to pick the best one – all while seek to turn leftover . Not to mention those of you post 60 - second Instagramvideos , or Snapchatting . Jesus , it ’s giving me anxiety just writing about it .
It ’s an interesting exercise to open up Instagram , hunt for drive hashtags , and get a good look at these soon - to - beDarwin Awardwinners . Honestly , I can empathize the neural impulse – your Spotify driving playlist remind up , wind in your hair , that indulgent feeling of total control as you hover through dealings . A good campaign can make you finger mighty o.k. – as evidence by the most common words in driving selfie subtitle : road trip ! Beautiful ! Summer ! Clouds ! Sunset ! Nature !
Unfortunately none of those natural attractive force you draw are ever even physically visible in your selfie . In fact , as a third - party viewer sitting in my berth under very stationary destiny , I ’m finding it difficult to feel your # vibraphone . Really , this is just a characterisation of you and your cloth - covered headrest not paying aid to what you ’re doing , endangering yourself and others .
splendid idea : do n’t carry driving selfies . Another smart as a whip idea : don’tlikeposts of driving selfies . It ’s not just another word-painting in your provender of your x - co - worker ’s middling Eggs Benedict that you casually HEART . Agreed ? Cool .
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