Selfies are more popular than ever thanks to social media. When someone sees something funny or pretty, they feel that they have to post a photo of themselves with it. Seeing it for themselves or taking a photo of it just isn’t enough. Most of the time, selfies are harmless, but other times, they can cause destruction.
A field of flowering pink grass had to be cut down in China recently because a group of tourists trampled it while trying to take selfies.
The flowering grass was located in a park. Although many people enjoyed them from afar, one group decided they needed to be in the middle of the field, so they could snap the perfect selfies.
Caretakers worked hard for three years to keep the grass looking good, and they even tried to run off the selfie-takers. It didn’t work. By the time the selfie-takers were finished, the grass was all smashed and broken.
The caretakers ended up having to cut it all down to avoid photographers and to make the park look good again.
A caretaker named Auntie Zheng commented on the destruction, saying:
“The seeds were imported from Australia, and I’ve been caring for the growth of this grass, but I never imagined they’d get demolished in just two to three days. To me, they are like my son and daughter. It’s like witnessing my sons being beaten by barbarians, but I can do nothing to help.”
People are incredibly upset about the disrespect and damage. One person commented on the original article:
“No matter how pretty the pictures are, it will be embarrassing to post them now.”
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This isn’t the first time Chinese tourists have done something awful for the sake of a selfie.
Recently, a Chinese tourist in Switzerland was caught on video when she grabbed a swan by the neck, so she could get a photo with it.
On the video, she can be heard saying:
“Wait; I didn’t get the shot.”
The video received numerous comments, as well.
One viewer said:
“This type of person should be put on a blacklist, forbidden from leaving the country or not allowed back. Totally shameless.”
Although the swan did not appear to be injured in the video, it is not known if the tourist continued to grab it in order to get a photo. There have been many other people who have risked their own lives to take selfies, as well.
The quest for the perfect selfie is considered an addiction by some medical experts.
One boy in the UK shared how he almost lost everything while trying to take the perfect selfie. Danny Bowman said:
“I was constantly in search of taking the perfect selfie, and when I realized I couldn’t, I wanted to die. I lost my friends, my education, my health, and almost my life.”
He isn’t alone. If you scroll down your social media pages, you will see dozens of selfies. Some people post several a day. Danny even shared the motivation behind his addiction, saying:
“People would comment on them, but children can be cruel. One told me my nose was too big for my face and another picked on my skin. I started taking more and more to try to get the approval of my friends. I would be so high when someone wrote something nice but gutted when they wrote something unkind.”
A lot of people like to take photos, and it’s seen as acceptable to take selfies wherever you go.
However, there has to be a line that can’t be crossed to avoid things like what happened to the swan and to the field of pink grass. Even more importantly, people need to care enough about themselves to not let photographs become an obsession or an addiction. Selfies are great, but they aren’t worth risking everything or destroying something beautiful.
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