Recording murders, accidents, molestation and what not? Ever since the mobile era emerged, humans have been stooping to a new low, every single day. We were still in between the debate of what is ethical and what is not when the influencer era emerged and suddenly boomed. You can make money with those videos they said and everyone went crazy. No education required. No certifications. No proof that you know what you are saying. This is the world where you can do absolutely anything that comes to your mind and get away with it in the name of content.
A vlogger recently said that frozen food is more fresh than fresh food. There’s science behind it. She then had the guts to say that Ayurveda always backed freshly made food because they were unaware of technology. Anyway, to each his own. But what is disturbing and cannot be tolerated is the trend where babies and bedridden patients are used for views. When I speak of babies, vloggers who are recording their daily lives and their newborns are a part of their routine can be given liberty here. Though it might raise safety concerns here, the parent here can yet decide how much to show their child in the video.
I am talking about kids who have intellectual disability or are in a vegetative state. The same applies to other individuals from any age group. If the individual, even of the legal age, is not in the position to give a consent to record his or her physical or mental state, it should be illegal to use them for content. Suppose, you are out in a hotel where you capture a couple’s private moments and upload it online. Can the couple sue you? Of course, they can and they will. The same applies to every individual.
There is a mother on Instagram whose only content is her minor son who is in a vegetative state. I once stumbled upon her video in reels. When I went through the page, it’s simply her recording videos with emotional songs put up as audio. The boy cannot even hold his neck, sometimes, he is even salivating. If you truly cared for the guy, you wouldn’t have used him to make money. Now the question here is, the family needs money for his treatment hence they are using Instagram to get popular and start earning from endorsements – all to beat the difficult times. If that’s the argument, why is child labour illegal? A child is used by the family to make ends meet. How is this different from a content creator using a kid to make ends meet?
Similarly, there are people who are using senior citizens who are in their eighties or nineties for content. The ones who are still fit and are participating in it willingly aren’t a concern here. But the ones whose vision or hearing capabilities have been compromised, who are bed-ridden and do not understand what is happening with them are the ones we should worry about. They are not content.
I am not interested in watching people who are struggling to live as content. Knowingly or unknowingly, they are tormented and being abused.
This should stop. Immediately! But, will it?
The Digital Popcorn 