Capturing the “perfect” shot for Instagram has resulted in injuries and deaths, like the most recent tragedy of a travel influencer couple who fell to their deaths in Yosemite.
Instagram users were not happy with influencer Patricia Alejos Monzon, a travel blogger with 32,500 followers, as she recently posted a photograph of herself standing in front a moving train approaching her at a busy junction in Thailand.
Is this okay? https://t.co/fYNUAoef5R
— Metro Lifestyle (@MetroUK_Life) November 13, 2018
Followers cited the danger that Monzon faced, as well as how such a photograph could have unintended consequences.
Metro.Co.Uk reported one follower saying: “Probably not the best to promote photos like this. There are tons of kids who get in hot water attempting to emulate pics like this. Just my two cents.”
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Another said, “‘Been there and these people are right. Yes, it may not be as fast as the other trains, but it can still move quickly. Or maybe the train operator tried to slow down because of you. Putting yourself at risk just for an Instagram picture, just for more likes, more attention, and more followers? Not worth it.”
“You shouldn’t promote this,” wrote another user. “Yyu are giving the wrong impression of safety and some people following you might get hurt if they do the same. I’ve been there and though the train is slow, everyone should be out of the railway when it comes by.”
The travel blogger initially defended her choice in taking the photograph.
“First, this is not dangerous at all, and second I am not the first and won’t be the last person taking a photo here or any other dangerous places. It is on ourselves to be aware of the dangers and the limits. Even if I would not take this photo, people would anyway. I am not a person who takes a big risk just for a photo, I value my safety and life,” she wrote, according to Metro.Co.Uk.
“It was not that risky. The train was so slow that you could have walked ahead easily. It was rather dangerous how close it passed in front of the people and stands. It was like 10 cm.”
“They said that it was really dangerous what I was doing,” she wrote in the caption. “They were holding their cellphones filming how the train was coming at 5 km/h speed while screaming at me saying that I was at risk. Well, to be honest at that speed even a turtle would have saved its life.”
Even though she defended her actions, Monzon ultimately deleted the post.
Perhaps due in part to the criticisms from her followers, Monzon posted another Instagram photo today with a caption that shows her backtracking on her initial argument and admitting the risks associated with her photograph.
Monzon wrote: “I need to agree that I was wrong in posting the picture at the Maeklong Market and with the caption for it as well. The picture gives a wrong impression of what the intention was.”
“It is showing a dangerous situation in a positive light although the main focus was supposed to be on the market itself. For this, my [sincerest] apologies.”
“As I have mentioned several times in the comments: I WOULD NEVER RISK MY LIFE FOR A PHOTO. Please, DON’T DO IT YOURSELF. We constantly hear sad news about people risking their lifes for a photo and it is terrifying. Social media is a platform to share our content and it should never promote dangerous situations.”
While Monzon seems to have had a change of heart, death by selfie or other risky moves to capture the ‘perfect’ photo is a real problem among tourists and travel influencers around the world.
