'Trivializing' fame

Oh my god, where are we? Since when did fame start being built on such cheap, trivial, and illusory foundations?

On a weekend night, while lying down surfing the internet, I was shocked to see a livestream selling men's clothing so boldly that the seller kept introducing the product while indecently touching the body of the model next to him. The male model, according to the livestream host, is 1m8 tall, with a standard body proportion. The livestream did not clearly show the model's face, the camera deliberately only took an angle from the neck down, probably to facilitate the vulgar behavior when selling.

The male model was responsible for trying on all the clothes that the viewers commented on the livestream, but instead of avoiding going elsewhere, he took them off right in front of the camera lens, even making some erotic gestures. The livestream host's hands caressed every part of the male model's body, saying obscene words; but strangely, the more exaggerated he was, the more "eye-catching" he was. When the livestream room first opened, there were only a few hundred followers, but when the male model became bolder, he immediately attracted tens of thousands of "eyes", so the products also sold like hotcakes.

Browsing Facebook, TikTok, YouTube..., more and more "idols" of the youth appear, but honestly, when you look at them out of curiosity, you can't understand what there is to idolize about them? Full of tattoos, rebellious appearance, self-proclaimed and boastful about their history of being in and out of prison, drug addiction and partying, and then take pride in it; filming scenes of throwing money around like trash at nightclubs and drinking places; hugging a long-legged girl with the right hand, molesting a hot girl with the left hand...

That's okay, yes, society is full of many things, but the "internet gangsters" also livestream to teach life lessons, preach morality, advise "you kids" on how to live... It's so terrible! Invisibly, the ugly images and rotten personalities that are rampant on the internet have affected a part of the youth, leading to a distorted outlook on life, thinking that this is cool, that is awesome, and then "I wish I could be like you", "do you accept disciples"...

Another scary trend on social media is restaurant reviews. Facebookers, TikTokers, and YouTubers who started out with food review videos have now mostly become the terror of restaurant owners. It is normal to have good or bad food, praise or criticize, but reviewing with the purpose of finding fault, mocking mistakes, even deliberately going overboard by banging on tables and chairs, cursing the restaurant owner because the food is not as expected... to record videos to attract views, create drama for viewers... is unacceptable. Many restaurants in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have had to hang signs that do not accept guests to review, film, or take pictures for this reason!

Social media accounts that seek fame by being rude, vulgar, vulgar… are appearing more and more. They have the same goal: to create something different, the more different the better, regardless of customs and ethics, just need a lot of views. Views become a tool to measure fame, and of course, it comes with income. More views on YouTube means more automatic ads, more money in the account; more views on Facebook means the opportunity to be approached by brands to write advertising content, with sky-high prices; more views on TikTok means you can immediately livestream to sell products, any product, all in demand… Therefore, people “trivialize” fame, fame at all costs!

The reality is so painful, but the current sanctions are still not enough of a deterrent. Most of the YouTubers, TikTokers, and Facebookers who violate the law, if they cause a stir in public opinion and the press speaks out, then the authorities will step in to handle the situation, but mainly by warning and imposing administrative penalties; there are still many other "famous people" who still produce content to attract views as usual.

Nowadays, no matter how dissatisfied you are with the deviant social media phenomenon, it is difficult to delete your account and completely separate yourself from the Internet environment. It is frustrating when our children still intentionally or unintentionally watch those trivial videos and images every day, but it is very difficult to do something to limit and eventually eliminate bad and toxic content on the Internet! That not only requires stronger and more drastic sanctions from the authorities, but also requires changes from each of us.

These “internet gangsters” and “dirty view” channels are not famous for nothing. We, whether intentionally or unintentionally, are helping to boost their views with our attention. Ignore them, and press the block button, report the channel to inform the platform administrators that there is content that violates community policies, goes against public morality… By doing so, we are saving our own living environment, saving the future of our children!