Are You Willing To Risk Your Life For Instagram Likes?

A travel blogger couple is under fire for posting a photograph of themselves in which they can be seen dangling from a cliff. According to New York Post, American travel bloggers Kelly Castille, 33, and Kody Workman, 32, uploaded a photo of themselves posing above the Humantay Lagoon in Peru. While Kody can be seen sitting on the cliff, Kelly is holding her boyfriend’s hands and dangling above the lake, with just one foot resting on the rock. One misstep, or slip up and Kelly could have ended up with a grievous injury. The couple’s daredevilry proves how influencers can go to any length to gain likes and shares on social media.

SOME TAKEAWAYS: 

• A travel blogger couple is being criticised for their risky photoshoot.
• The couple posted a photo where one of them can be seen dangling over a cliff, holding hands of her partner.
• Is life worth just a great photo for influencers?
• Who is accountable if a minor imitates the activities of such influencers and gets into trouble?

One misstep, or slip up and Kelly could have ended up with a grievous injury. The couple's daredevilry proves how influencers can go to any length to gain likes and shares on social media.

One can see that the blogger couple, which has 174k followers on Instagram, has used no safety net or harness in their photo. We can only imagine the kind of trouble any one of them, or both could have gotten into, if things hadn’t gone as planned. However, this isn't the first time the couple has taken grave risks for a mere photo. There's another photograph of them, where Kelly can be seen dangling from the side of an infinity pool.

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The world is waiting for you! Behind the masses of those that wish to watch you lead a quiet and sedentary life is an open, unlined canvas. We urge you to take a chance, to push past barriers of negativity and oppression of self fulfillment and paint the picture of who YOU want to be. Never let yourself be beat down for living your life by those too afraid to live their own. There is a difference between risking your life and taking a risk at having one. We know which side we would rather be on, do you?

A post shared by KELLY + KODY (@positravelty) on Aug 28, 2019 at 8:33am PDT

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🇺🇸 Our greatest strength in life, our most important principle, is discernment. Only you can know your body, feel the space around you and understand your capabilities. We would all do well to remember this, knowing that not every action, style or path we witness through others is or should be, replicated. At the end of the day we are to hold ourselves accountable for the decisions that we make. ※ 🇵🇦 La mejor fortaleza en la vida, el moral más importante, es discernimiento. Solo puedes entender tu cuerpo, sentir el espacio que te rodea y comprender tus capacidades. Haríamos bien en recorder este, sabiendo que no toda acción, estilo o camino que presenciamos por otros es o debe ser, replicado. Al final del dia, somos responsables de las decisiones que hacemos. ※ Thank you @kayonjungleresort for an unforgettable experience! ※ ※ #balitravel #couplesgoals #ilovetravel #bestplaces #baligasm #ubud #balitravel #novios #junglelife #viajeros #wetravel #travelinspo #adventurous #indonesiaparadise #speechlessplaces #infinitypool #welltraveled #earthpix #baliholiday

A post shared by KELLY + KODY (@positravelty) on Apr 2, 2019 at 7:27am PDT

The obsession to get a perfect click pushed these influencers to risk their lives for the sake of social media fame. But are they the only ones? Haven’t we seen people risking their lives for their fifteen minutes of fame? There’s a video of a man doing a backflip on the ledge of a mountain. Then there are people who cross barriers installed for their own safety at seas or valleys, just to click a selfie.

Also Read: Three-Year-Old’s Selfie Related Death Is Yet Another Warning

This has indeed cost people their lives, and amusingly India seems to be leading the way. According to AIIMS, about half of the 259 reported selfie deaths and accidents between 2011 and 2017 occurred in India.

What do these people aim to achieve? A validation from their digital peers? Is that what their life is worth? Or are these people so confident of their strategy that they are absolutely sure about the safety issues that could arise at such photo sessions? Even if the said couple or any other influencer has safety measures in place, but is making it look like a risqué photograph, they need to think what kind of example they are setting for others. With a lot of minors on social media platforms, there may be some youths who may try to mimic such stunts and get into trouble. Who will be responsible then?

While digital algorithm may bring you monetary benefits and fame, one needs to draw a line somewhere. Only you know what is the worth of your life.

Be it selfies or choreographed photoshoots of influencers, the accountability of risk taken lies solely with those who take the risk. Why are those who share, retweet or like these photos not responsible? Because their demands are deeply rooted in the supply. All they are doing is tapping at their phones, and while digital algorithm may bring you monetary benefits and fame, one needs to draw a line somewhere. Only you know what the worth of your life is. No one can decide that for you by liking the photographs that you click. No one can tell you that you are irrelevant to the society or undeserving of fame and money if you don’t dangle from a cliff, or do a backflip on a ledge, or lie down on a railway track. Those are the things that we tell ourselves.

Picture Credit: zeenews.com

Also Read: Data Breach In Health Apps: Don't We Deserve Better?

Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section. The views expressed are author’s own.