How Not to Take a Selfie: Don’t Stand By Train Tracks (Like This Guy)

Have you ever been so annoyed by someone taking a selfie in public that you wanted to kick them in the head? From the looks of one video storming the Web, one guy knows exactly how you feel.

Jared Michael, a YouTube user, uploaded a video of himself getting knocked out by a conductor’s foot as a roaring train whizzes by. Michael was standing by the train tracks, and in the midst of taking his selfie you can see the conductor’s foot pop out and pound the side of Michael’s head. To which Michael exclaimed: "Wow, that guy kicked me in the head! I even got that on film!"

Guess the conductor couldn't resist the urge.

The video was uploaded on Tuesday and had more than 873K views as of late Wednesday morning.

If you ask me, it’s unclear why this young man was standing so close to the tracks in the first place and, more so, why the conductor had his leg hanging out of a moving train if this in fact was an accident. (Is this even real, or was it a hoax?)

But maybe—just maybe—that conductor was trying to teach Michael a lesson in public etiquette.

Better yet, perhaps it’s a lesson for all of us about “selifes” in general. Like, why are we taking them, and why are they so hot right now?

Sure, some publications tout the self-esteem benefits of taking selfies, while others say they're harming youth.

But my question is, why are selfies all the rage now—post-Myspace era (which I know well), when selfies graced profile pictures galore? That was far before the days of posting selfies on Instagram and Facebook, and sending them via Snapchat.

Indeed, taking a “selfie” has become such a hot topic that, as you may have heard, Oxford Dictionaries named it the word of the year for 2013.

Maybe instead of reading up on ways we can take better selfies and selfie etiquette tips, we should put down our smartphones, unplug, and enjoy our “me” time as actual alone time, minus the technology. Not to mention we take photos to capture memories, after all. What value is there in snapping photos of ourselves without anyone else in them? Plus, even considering the maybe-true self-confidence perks of taking pics of ourselves, they’re totally based on vanity, a sin in most cultures and religions.

And for at least for one guy, taking selfies can be, um, physically dangerous.

What do you say? Are you pro- or anti-selfie?