You know those friends you have on Facebook or Instagram who seem like they could possibly be addicted — truly addicted — to taking selfies? Well, for most people, that compulsion is relatively harmless, but for 19-year-old Danny Bowman, it reportedly led to an attempted suicide.
The British teen spent up to 10 hours each day taking photos of himself on his iPhone, the Daily Mirror reports. The addiction became so debilitating that he dropped out of school and retreated into his home for six months.
“I was constantly in search of taking the perfect selfie and when I realized I couldn’t I wanted to die,” Bowman told the Daily Mirror. “I lost my friends, my education, my health and almost my life.”
He nearly overdosed on pills, but his mother intervened and helped keep him alive. Bowman’s case is extreme, yes, but psychiatrists are beginning to consider selfie addiction as a serious mental health issue.
Maybe we should all just stop taking selfies and solely use our smartphones for the truly important things, like pretending we’re texting to avoid saying hello to people.
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