Limit images to avoid selfie-destruction

Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence is taking legal action after hacked nude photos of her were posted on a website this week. PHOTO/FILE

There's no doubt about it, the "selfie" sickness has gone viral and we are in desperate need of a vaccine.

Though not as deadly as the likes of Ebola, the selfie - in all its ever-evolving forms - has left in its wake an often unsightly trail of victims.

The method of demise can be varied. Humiliation, mortification, infidelity exposed, ruined reputations, the common cause of these public falls from grace remains the same - self(ie)-infliction, more often than not bought on by self(ie)-indulgence.

I'm no prude - far from it - and while I accept people are certainly entitled to a private life, one must also recognise that retaining private images on your cellphone or your computer may lead to problems. Even deleted images can be resurrected, coming back in zombie-like form to bite you and feed on your flesh ... well, the images of your flesh, anyway.

It's dangerous enough to keep one photo, but no, why stop there? Let's share it with our partner, too, so they can have their own copy. We're gonna be together forever, they'd never use it against us after a bitter break-up, and surely he'd never show it to his mates in the changing-room ... yeah, right. I think that's called self(ie)-denial.

Add to that the real and everyday possibility of losing or misplacing your cellphone. Having it stolen. Then there's the constant threat of being hacked as a number of Hollywood actresses have discovered with the news this week that "stolen" private photos of them, sometimes in states of undress, have been posted online.

Is your need to revisit such intimate images so great that it outweighs the possibility of the very literal exposure of your private life on the most public forum in the world?

Despite the many examples of those who have previously succumbed to the selfie sickness, we still continue to read, on an almost daily basis, about new victims of the virus.

Containment is just not an option. In a matter of seconds, those exposed become known and shown to virtually everybody on the planet - and once it's out there, there's no way of getting it back.

I just don't understand why, with so many warnings, cautionary tales and negative press, people continue to indulge in such unsafe, risky and potential harmful behaviour. There is no magic condom for cellphones that promises full protection.

The whole selfie trend appears to be ego-driven. Even the innocent, non-sexual selfie. Posted why? Do you really think so much of yourself that you are compelled to bombard Facebook, Instagram and the Twittersphere with pictures because you're convinced people want to see you. Or is it a craving for the feedback ... the likes, the shares, the re-tweets.

It seems a pretty sad existence when your only source of social acceptance comes via "friends" and followers that you've never even met.

I have just read an article trying to pass itself off as news which says Kim Kardashian, while on a short holiday, posted 120-plus selfies. Didn't she have anything better to do? And who are all the followers and subscribers who must spend half their days opening up their emails to receive these latest posted pics. What riveting and productive lives they must lead.

I'm not opposed to the selfie in any way. Go for it, I say. Nothing wrong with posting one or two on social media and updating them at timely intervals, but it comes down to the old moderation game.

As with many trends associated with social media, we seem to go overboard and become addicted. We over-use, over-share and over-indulge.

We post with no real purpose, other than because we can. Self(ie)-serving, I think it's called.

Maybe they should rename them selfie-phones while they're at it.

I'm picking, however, that little will change - warnings will go unheeded and the body count will continue to rise. This sickening social disease will see many more self(ie)-destruct.

Even sadder is the number of voyeuristic vultures waiting in the wings to feast on the all-too-public fallout.

So if you're determined to retain images that show a lot of skin, make sure it's a thick one. You're going to need it.

Your best bet, though, is to exercise a little cellphone celibacy - until there's a vaccine I don't see any other way.

Send your feedback (no selfies please) to investik8@gmail.com

Kate Stewart is an unemployed, reluctant mother-of-three, hurriedly deleting all those embarrassing photos on her cellphone