As we saw in Generation Like, the rise of social media since the mid-200o’s has given both brands and people alike the opportunity to showcase themselves online to garner “likes,” “subscribers,” or “followers.”
The documentary also had a brief segment on Youtubers and how they use their viewership to their own advantage as long as they parter with brands to advertise their products.
However, there has been some controversy in the Youtube world. One Youtuber named Sam Pepper is known for pulling ridiculous pranks and stunts in front of the camera to capture peoples attention and get lots of views. One of his pranks received a lot of attention– just not in a positive way. It’s called “Killing Best Friend Prank” and I’ll embed it below.
Apparently Sam Pepper had teamed up with Sam (another famous internet personality) and agreed to trick his best friend Colby, into thinking he got shot. In the video you can see Sam Pepper kidnapping both of them and shooting Sam right in front of Colby.
People have criticized this video because of the raw emotion it showed, as well as its immorality. To see all the controversy, you have to do is read the comments and look at the number of dislikes the video received.
It seems as though people will do anything to get likes nowadays. What do you think of this video? Do you think Sam Pepper has gone too far? Is his behavior less immoral because all three people know each other (as opposed to pulling this prank on a stranger)?