Youth Take Risky Route for Social Media Pie

Hyderabad: The chilling incident of two persons, who murdered a man, posting a video of their weapons and bloodied hands is just the latest instance of youngsters turning to social media for fame. It doesn’t need to be major crime, anything that breaks the rules will do.

With social media platforms offering instant gratification in the form of views and likes, some people are resorting to risky behaviour to garner attention.

According to a 2019 study by Statista, 30 per cent of children who are aged less than 12 years, wanted to become vloggers and influencers, while 25 per cent wanted to become educators and 11 per cent want to be astronauts. In an age, where being a social media influencer has become aspirational for youth, experts are calling for proper norms for content and boundaries between acceptable content and crime-encouraging media.

From creating public nuisance to dangerous pranks, incidents of youth engaging in unlawful activities for the sake of online popularity are on the rise. The pressure to gain followers and likes has led many to cross ethical and moral boundaries, disregarding the consequences of their actions.

Recently, two people were seen dancing in the Hyderabad metro rail for reels, annoying co-passengers. But this is not the only nuisance created by them. The uploader, who goes by the Instagram handle “rasoolpura_rinku”, has numerous videos on his page where he was seen dancing on a busy traffic road, causing issues to the motorists. He was also seen throwing water on a train traveller for Holi.

Consulting psychologist Abhigna said “Youngsters tend to fall prey to peer pressure, the flashy lives of other influencers and easily available content making methods, and they resort to creating content which could be risky for a third person, or sometimes even unlawful.”

Speaking about why people resort to committing such acts, Srija P., an independent practising psychologist, said: “There are many social media influencers who have acquired a big image and are living a lavish life. Along with that, pop culture is full of movies and shows which glorify and normalise abuse and carnage. Young personswho observe this trend imprint it into their minds, and try to gain fame by committing unlawful activities. When they get some views and likes, it brings instant gratification, which encourages them to do more such acts.”

She said people have to draw a boundary when it comes to such indecent acts. “The norms have to be taught to children from an early age. Influencers should have a constant vigil on whether their act is hurting another person or crossing a boundary,” Srija said.

Abhigna said education campaigns aimed at promoting digital literacy and critical thinking skills should be implemented to help young people navigate the online world safely and responsibly.

“As social media is a relatively new platform, everybody has to be taught the pros and cons of it, and have to be wary for their and the society’s protection”, she added.