Influencers get a lot of stick these days. The latest thing they’re being blamed for: shark attacks.
Scientists have noted a recent rise in shark attacks, and according to new research published in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science, of the 74 recorded bites in the seas around French Polynesia, 5% were assessed as acts of self-defense.
Professor Eric Clua of PSL University in France, who led the research, holds social media responsible. “I don’t encourage, as many influencers do on social networks, [people] to cling to a shark’s dorsal fin or stroke it, under the pretext of proving that they are harmless,” Clua told The Times.
“The sharks here feel like family,” one such influencer with 111,000 followers wrote in the caption of an Instagram post. In one picture, she is seen grabbing the nose of a shark; in another, she reaches out and gently pushes its nose as it swims toward her. “Don’t get it twisted, the sharks don’t give a f*** about me,” she adds in the caption. “Which absolutely makes me a crazy shark lady.”
While they might feel like family, that doesn’t mean the sharks consent to being used as props in a social media post—a lesson some people have unfortunately learned the hard way. Earlier this year, a tourist vacationing in the Caribbean was allegedly trying to take a photo of a bull shark swimming in shallow waters when it bit off both her hands.
Although sharks are not naturally inclined to bite humans, they are wild predators that will act in self-defense. Researchers examined a global database known as the Shark Attack Files and found more than 300 incidents fitting the same defensive pattern, dating back to the 1800s. Most of these bites involved small and medium-size sharks, including gray reef sharks, blacktip reef sharks, and nurse sharks. When it comes to great whites, which are more dangerous, humans are generally wise enough to steer clear.
“People know the difference between a [Yorkshire terrier] and a pit bull, whereas they don’t know the difference between a blacktip reef shark and a bull shark, which are their marine equivalents,” Clua said. “They are responsible for fewer than 10 human deaths a year worldwide. Whereas dogs are responsible for more than 10,000 deaths and are perceived positively by the public.”
Even using the term “shark attack” is misleading, researchers argue, as it creates the perception of sharks as aggressors and undermines conservation efforts that rely on public support. Around 100 million sharks are killed annually (about 274,000 per day), targeted for their fins, meat, and as bycatch. As it stands, they have more reason to be scared of you than you have of them.
So, if you find yourself swimming alongside a shark, the scientific advice is simple: Look, don’t touch.