The worrying increase in recording strangers for entertainment

Latavya Chintada Staff Writer

If you—like millions of people around the world—are on TikTok, you might have seen countless videos recording random strangers in public. With no apparent connection to the people they are filming, the creators of these videos might appreciate the strangers they are filming or poke fun at them, all without consent. These videos will then go viral, making their way through Instagram Reels, Snapchat Spotlights and, of course, the dreaded Twitter feed.

Recently, I came across a video on my TikTok For You page (FYP) of a stranger holding his head in his hands on a park bench, obviously having a bad day. The creator of the video seemed to have taken this from afar, zoomed into this man and captioned it with “when your girlfriend breaks up with you.” To make matters worse, the comments were all proposing their own ideas on why this man was having a bad day, ranging from lighthearted jokes about how this is them when Chipotle runs out of chicken to more distasteful comments probing at the man’s personality. It struck me as absurd, seeing as none of these people even knew the man or what he was going through. What if this man was mourning the loss of a loved one?

Or what if he was recently fired from a job that supported his entire family? Obviously, these are very extreme scenarios—however, regardless of what he was distraught about, seeing people make wild assumptions about his life did not sit right with me.

From videos of strangers having emotional moments (like this man in the aforementioned video), to a couple having a fight to an elderly man wearing an eccentric outfit, to even a teenager trying to dance and have fun, there is an endless supply of strangers being recorded in public. This all enforces a way of thinking where everyone needs to conform to a social standard, otherwise you too will be recorded and made fun of online.

One prime example of this that we all may know of is “Couch Guy.” For those of you who don’t know who Couch Guy is, here’s the backstory. The TikTok video records a long distance girlfriend going to her boyfriend’s apartment to surprise him, and she’s met with a lackluster response from him as he remains on a couch. The internet went crazy over this, with thousands of videos mocking him and their relationship, telling her to leave him, attacking his character and making other presumptions about their relationship. While there may be some truth to some of these assumptions, realistically, we still don’t know their relationship based on a 30 second video. I think presumptions like these are harmful, as it often perpetuates a false stereotype of a random stranger while making this man’s image be ubiquitous across the internet. Not to mention, he will be forever known as a “bad boyfriend” because of this video. However, last time I checked, their relationship still seems to be going strong despite public backlash so props to them.

While we don’t have the absolute right to privacy especially in a public setting, why can’t we at least get the basic dignity we deserve? It seems that filming strangers in public has become a sort of cash grab or even a way to get clout by poking fun at others. Huge social media accounts such as those prank YouTubers or social experiment TikTokers are a popular form of entertainment, but ultimately they are monetizing the mockery of strangers. These people also do not give permission to be filmed beforehand (I suppose to not undermine the authenticity of the prank), but find themselves viral on the internet with people commenting on their behavior, looks or all of the above. It can be troubling and anxiety-inducing.

There are times that recording can be beneficial, especially when recording abuses of power, harassment or crimes. For example, recording police brutality or harassment from an au- thority figure can be in the public’s interest. This is how large social movements come to fruition, and there is no denying the benefits. However, when it comes down to recording normal people doing normal things, there is a fine line between goodhearted teasing to public harassment.

This again comes down to the social conformity point—if someone is doing something that we find odd, the first response has become to record them, put it online and have thousands judge their behavior.

Social media has made us so far removed from empathy that we forget that these are real people with real feelings and real lives that we do not know of. We also need to remember that everyone has a different perspective and reaction to things, and people handle surprise, happiness and sadness differently. What you might do when you are happy might not be the same as someone else, so it’s not right to subject someone else to the same emotional guidelines (such as Couch Guy) to determine if they are reacting the same way or not.

Ultimately, this culture around social media needs to change. We need to start giving people room to make mistakes, and we should give them grace when viewing public embarrassments. That’s what you would want for yourself, right? Basically, we need to mind our own business more.

SOFTBALL from page 1

Russo and Gross recorded a pair of hits, while third-year Kela Jagoda and Rieger drove in a pair of runs each. Miskey allowed just one run to go along with 7 strikeouts. Hosey allowed a hit and a walk with 2 strikeouts.

On the second day, CWRU defeated Salve Regina University 12-7 after dominating the first few innings to take a quick 11-2 lead. Jagoda and Gross led the team to victory with a combined 5 runs scored and 7 runs batted in. Jagoda also recorded 3 RBIs, matching her career-high. Hosey did not allow a hit in the last three innings and struck out 5 batters, lowering her run average to 1.38 at the time.

The game against Babson College proved to be the most challenging thus far, but CWRU pulled off the 3-2 win in eight innings. Fourth-year Carli Tucci scored on a sacrifice fly from first-year Elizabeth Berry for the 1-0 lead. The Beavers took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning off of two-out hits. In the same innings, Riely tied the score with a one-out home run, the fourth of her career, to bring the game within reach for CWRU. In the final frame with an automatic runner on second, Riely’s sacrifice bunt and Tucci’s fly ball to center field scored the winning run.

CWRU recorded two shutouts on the third day, powered by pitchers Hosey, Miskey and third-year Jenna Jaklich. Against the State University of New York College at Geneseo, Tucci hit her third home run of the season to put the Spartans on the board. Gross’s single drove two runners in for the 3-0 lead. The Spartans finished the game 5-0, with Hosey lowering her run average to 1.06.

Against Endicott College, CWRU did all their scoring in the first two innings. Miskey handled the rest of the game, allowing just one hit in the third inning for the 3-0 win.

On the penultimate day of THE Spring Games, CWRU defeated Westminster in a tight 4-3 match. The Spartans kicked off scoring with 2 runs in the fourth inning from Tucci and Gobeyn. The Titans managed to reach bases but couldn’t convert in the fifth inning. CWRU took advantage and added two more runs following a home run from Riely to make it 4-0. Westminster responded with a three-run home run in the sixth inning, but Miskey halted their chances of a comeback in the seventh inning.

The following match against Hood College was less competitive, as the Spartans handily earned the 8-1 victory. Gross finished the game twofor-three with two doubles, a run, a run batted in and a stolen base. Eight of nine Spartan starters recorded a hit, with the team notching 11 in the game. Russo added 2 hits, while Tucci and Gobeyn recorded 2 runs batted in each.

CWRU started off their final day of matches with a dominating 9-0 shutout against Hope College. Gobeyn added 2 runs in the second inning and another 2 in the third inning, putting the Spartans ahead 4-0. First-year outfielder Brianna Landers scored the 5th run following a sacrifice fly by Rieger. In the final inning, the Spartans added 4 runs off of a run-scoring single from Gross, 2 runs on a Hope error and Russo’s double.

In their final game, CWRU defeated the University of Wisconsin Stout 5-1. Hosey shined in the game, retiring nine batters in a row through the first four innings. She earned her sixth win of the season after completing six innings with 7 strikeouts. She didn’t allow any runs, lowering her earned running average (ERA) to 0.91. Hosey was named the UAA Pitcher of the Week after going 4-0 for the seventhranked CWRU with a 0.30 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 23 and one-third innings. Riely was named the UAA Hitter of the Week after hitting .577 with 2 home runs, a .593 on-base percentage and 1.000 slugging percentage in eight wins.

Miskey was also named the Spartan Club Athlete of the Week for March 13 after striking out 15 batters in eight innings on the first day of THE Spring Games. CWRU will now face conference play, with their first series coming up on the road against Emory University. The Spartans will play four games over three days from March 24-26.