What sick pleasure can you get from burning 3 puppies alive and making a video of it?
Warning, graphic content...
One comes across this expression quite often today in the digital space. But does that deter us from clicking on that graphic video?
The warning, I guess, makes us curious, and we often end up sharing it.
The video that surfaced a few days ago of a dog being thrown from the rooftop was very disturbing. I am not much of a pet-lover (nor do I hate them), but the video made me cringe.
All I did then was to share the video, write an emotional rant and move on with my life. But wait, I did my bit. My post got ten likes and 20 shares.
With a friend list of around 800-900 people, ten likes and 20 shares is not enough.
I am not a social media hero. But did anyone notice how many shares that person who posted the video got? Millions, I reckon. Poor thing, he did not know how to monetise the views.
While writing this blog, I came across another post on social media. A group of boys burning three puppies alive.
They are inhuman. Oh my god, they should be hanged. They don't have a right to live.
Yes, I again shared the post and expressed my concern.
But has anyone wondered what made these young men take such an extreme step, not cringe and, to top it all, have a video made of the entire incident? Well, I guess we all know the answer.
We share because we care
Even I do. I share because I care. But somewhere in a swanky office, a techie is waiting for us to click on that video so that someone somewhere can make money. That is social media today.
Half-baked knowledge is more harmful than no knowledge, a wise man once said. I guess he wasn't wise enough. Today, all it takes is what your neighbour knows and you don't, to instigate the social media veteran in you.
Walking on a street, driving, sitting in a café, waiting for that needle to pierce your skin or performing last rights at a crematorium, everything today requires a selfie at least, to be shared then on social media.
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| Only a few days ago, a Chennai MBBS student threw a dog off the terrace while his friend filmed it. |
I guess these men just went a step ahead, and threw and burnt the dogs. So what? They got their 15 seconds of fame. They were and would be caught. But then what? A fine of Rs 50 and bail and then time for another video.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
My vendetta is not against social media and its power. But the freedom it provides, if misused, can be harmful. But who defines the limit?
The generation today is overloaded with technology and the pressure to get a million likes for every post, but doesn't know how to handle the pressure.
Unless something really abominable is posted on social media, limits won't be defined. One needs a reasonable restriction on the kind of videos being uploaded in the digital space.
Ignorance is no longer bliss
Parents and teachers must stop ignoring such occurrences and start telling the child that clicking a selfie is okay unless it is next to a dead body. That it's not the end of the world if his video didn't get a few thousand likes or shares.
And above all, there should be adequate and reasonable checks on the use of social media.