By
Alex Temblador, TravelPulse
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.
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.”
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.
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