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Do selfies cause head lice?

Answer: It looks like they might.

Three women posing for a selfie as seen through the smartphone.
Selfies can be dangerous when people try to take them in the wrong scenario, like on the edge of a cliff or in front of a dangerous animal or moving vehicle. But it turns out you might be at risk even when you take a selfie in a seemingly safe spot, if there are other people involved.

Experts have recently cautioned that a rise in anecdotal reports of head lice could be attributed to group selfies. That’s because people often put their heads together, literally, when they pose for a selfie together. Head lice spread through head-to-head contact because they can’t jump or fly, so a group of people touching heads for the camera could be an easy way for them to do so.

Of course, there is the chance that lice infestations are simply returning to pre-pandemic levels as people are interacting and socializing more now than in the last few years. But who’s to say that people weren’t spreading lice through selfies before the pandemic? Either way, you might want to pass on a group selfie if anyone involved has a suspicious head itch.