These days, people will do some pretty stupid things in order to get themselves a slice of that sweet, sweet internet fame. YouTubers are constantly involving themselves in stunts or "pranks", Instagrammers are in a never-ending battle to try and one-up one another by creating the latest bizarre trend, and I can name at least five of my own Facebook friends who definitely believe they're somehow going to "make it big" one day by having their own fan pages.
However, very few people are probably willing to go as far for their moment in the digital spotlight as 19-year-old Katarina Zarutskie, who recently took a dip in shark-infested waters in order to get a good photo for her 'Gram.
The teen, who has been modelling for five years, frequently goes travelling and blogs about her experiences to her 13,000 followers.
Related: Fisherman spots 30-foot 'real life Jaws' swimming next to his boat:"I love to travel and I've been blessed with many opportunities," she said in an interview with Buzzfeed.
So, while on a recent trip to the Bahamas with her boyfriend's family, she could not turn down the chance to swim with a gathering of nurse sharks (and get a good snap while she was at it). Other people were already paddling in the water near the sharks, she said, and so she thought it wouldn't do any harm to join in.
"Nurse sharks are calm creatures," Zarutskie said, and claimed that she had seen Insta pics of other people swimming with them "so many times before."
Her boyfriend's family were rather more apprehensive about the situation, but she went ahead and got in the water anyway.
For a moment or two, everything was fine. The sea was clear, the sun was shining, and the sharks appeared to be perfectly happy just doing their own thing. But then one of them decided to investigate
As Zarutskie recalled: "I leaned back, and then that shark he came and he bit down on my arm and pulled me under."
Related: Sharks tear chunks out of each other off the Australian coast:Rather than immediately freak out, as most of us probably would, the 19-year-old remained as calm as possible. She managed to pry her arm from the shark's grip, and proceeded to get out of the water as fast as she could, making sure to keep her bloodied wrist out of the water so that the other sharks weren't attracted to the smell.
She managed to make it back to dry land without further incident, but was left with a nasty wound on her arm.
"I am lucky to have my hand," she said.
However, Zarutskie also said that she doesn't blame the sharks at all for the attack. "It’s honestly a crazy accident and it definitely could have happened to anyone," she wrote in a comment on Instagram. "I love the ocean and all animals and the last thing I would want to do is harm them in any way!"
Though nurse sharks very rarely lash out at people, the teen is undeniably lucky to have got away with just a small injury. Her experience could easily have become much worse, and the consequences certainly wouldn't have been worth those few extra likes on social media.
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