Everyone is familiar with the word "selfie." In 2013, it was even named Word of the Year by Oxford. We’ve been taking selfies since before we knew that’s what they were called. Myspace, Facebook, MSN Messenger — all of these things needed a profile picture, and who was there to take our angst-ridden pictures? No one but ourselves.

Since then, the art of selfies has evolved. It’s no longer awkwardly holding up your entire laptop over your face so that you can get the right angle. It’s taking pictures in front of historical landmarks, over the tops of skyscrapers, looking out of a helicopter. Most of them are beautiful and awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, some of them are quite dangerous.

There are now statistics about how many people get injured or killed while attempting to take the perfect selfie. In 2015, more people were killed taking selfies than by shark attacks. Recently, a news article went around saying that a man had accidentally killed himself while taking selfies that featured his gun.

This man was not the first to accidentally shoot himself while attempting to do the same. In 2014, at least four others killed themselves while taking these selfies.

Other risky selfies include trying to take pictures on top, in front of, or near moving trains, running in the annual bull-running festival, near staircases, hanging off of buildings, or hanging out of their windows.

There are plenty of safe ways to get your adrenaline rush. Go bungee jumping, or skydiving. Pay seven dollars to go see an action thriller in theaters. Climbing up a building or tower without any harnesses or safety precautions just to get a picture isn’t cool, it’s ridiculous. Playing chicken with a train isn’t smart.

By all means, take your cliché "I’m standing in front of the Washington Monument" selfie. I don’t mind; in fact, I encourage it. Take pictures of your trips, prove that you were there. While they may seem boring, I can guarantee you no one will be reading an article about how you got seriously injured because you were standing on the edge of a bridge to take a picture, lost your balance, or fell.

Say you’re out in the wilderness and you want to take pictures with the wildlife. Do so, but from a reasonable distance. Moose, elephants, and even giraffes aren’t very social animals. They’re territorial. If you get too close to them, you best hope you’re wearing your Pumas so that you can run. And for the love of all that is holy, do not be like this man and attempt to take a selfie with a venomous snake. It won’t end well. A selfie is not something worth losing a limb for.

There are so many advertisements these days telling us we’re too hooked to our phones and computers. I don’t mind what people do, I understand that there are things in your life that require you to be near some form of communication. My only amendment to those advertisements is that we are becoming so obsessed with the number of likes our pictures get on social media that we are willing to jeopardize our safety and our lives in order to take the best selfie. Take a step back and consider this. If our cause of death was written on our tombstones, how would you feel if yours said "death by selfie?"