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Paying The Ultimate Price For A Social Media Reward – Study Finds Selfie Deaths Are On The Rise

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some people are going to extreme lengths, paying a high price for an awe-inspiring selfie.

Many believe the greater the risk, the greater the social media reward.

Now, a new study looks at the fatal attraction for taking risky selfies.

Times Square is the crossroads of the world, and 'selfie central' where countless selfies are captured on smart phones and uploaded to social media every day.

It's tame stuff compared to some of the selfie superstars who risk their lives for a breathtaking shot.

"It's risky, but you get a good picture from it," Rick Eppels told CBS2's Tony Aiello.

A new study found a surprising number of people dying in pursuit of a shocking selfie -- 127 worldwide in the past 34 months.

The numbers are on the rise. The researchers found 15 selfie deaths in 2014, 39 in 2015, and 73 so far in 2016.

Researchers found people have drowned in lakes, been hit by trains, crashed planes, and fallen from heights all in pursuit of a memorable selfie.

"Instagram, Facebook, they just want the likes; want to become famous," Jayden Santiago said.

Researchers have been mapping the deaths with an eye on developing smartphone technology to prevent them.

"If the application senses that a user is in a dangerous location and he's trying to take a selfie the camera doesn't open and says that you shouldn't be opening a camera right now," Hemank Lamba explained.

As long as there are stupefying selfies to be had someone will take the risk to get it.

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