The selfie trend has spread like wildfire, but now it appears something a little more icky is spreading because of them.
New research has revealed that the social media trend may be contributing to an epidemic in head-lice among teens.
The New York Daily News has reported that experts are becoming increasingly concerned about what they call “social media lice”.
One such expert, Dr. Sharon Rink explained: “Teenagers don’t usually get lice because they’re not sharing hats and things like that.”
“And lice can’t jump, so the only way they can transmit lice is touching their heads together, and that’s happening with all these photos.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that such head-to-head contact should be avoided where possible.
For more information on treatment and prevention of headlice, check out the CDC website.
