Fame at What Cost?

Going viral is literally every content creator's dream, and that's because one piece of content of theirs going viral would open them to a whole world of views, engagement, and massive followers that'll improve their chances of earning more and even get endorsement and sponsorship deals that can change their story for life. No content creator would want to go viral because basically all of them need to get attention on the internet for them to be seen, known, and the like. To go viral, content creators need luck, great content, or the need to do something out of the ordinary; the latter is what most people now venture into, not caring how such actions could endanger their lives, reputation, or freedom.

Since the advent of social media monetization, a lot of people have delved into content creation in a bid to earn a living from social media, but doing that doesn't come easy, and that's because you need to be consistent, have a niche, and do something outstanding to get massive engagement and following. However, people have taken doing extraordinary things to get views and go viral beyond reasonable boundaries, as you'll see people do things that could endanger their lives and freedom. Some are just morally unreasonable, because you'll see some go naked or do unthinkable things on the internet all in the name of going viral to earn money; it's absurd, in my opinion.

I've watched content creators who ventured into extremely risky things just so they could get viewers glued to their page, such as climbing skyscrapers and tall buildings to perform stunts on their edge, not being mindful of what would happen if they fell down to their end in a bid to go viral. I remember a stroll of a young content creator who's into such content, and after a couple of such content pieces, he embarked on another and unfortunately didn't survive because he fell into his end while trying to do such a stunt again.

Just recently this week we saw the story of the two intending Russian lovers who climbed the Empire State Building illegally just to propose to each other; it's obvious that even though they're trying to be romantic, we can't hide the fact that they are also content creators who are just trying to do something extraordinary so as to go viral, and as you can see, it worked because they indeed did go viral. But at what cost? At the cost of their freedom because even though they came down safely, we can't hide the fact that they climbed it illegally and endangered their lives, and that got them arrested by the police, which obviously has taken away their freedom for a while.

Is there any reward that can quantify the weight of the risk being taken, especially knowing fully well that it can go both ways, positively or negatively? Imagine if it went wrong and they died in the process or lost their lives while at it. Take for instance the guy who had one of the longest police chases ever, and his video was uploaded online; he, although, went viral but ended up in the cell for years. I don't think the rewards are enough, and neither do I think we should do anything that'll put us in danger just because we want to go viral. I know life is a risk, but we must be mindful of the kind of risk we take.

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