Section 1.1: The Horrifying Videos

As an educator, my immediate response to a student asking, “Mr. Fan, would you like to see a video?” is often to decline. Nobody wants to encounter something inappropriate or distressing. However, this past week, the content my students were engaging with on social media was truly alarming. Although I refrained from viewing them myself, the descriptions provided by my students were chilling.

For instance, one video depicted a tragic incident where a young boy fell from a roller coaster, resulting in his death, accompanied by the haunting sound of impact. Another distressing clip featured two cousins—a 12-year-old girl and her 14-year-old cousin—playing with a firearm during an Instagram Live session, which ended in both fatalities. Adults present in the home reacted in horror, unable to intervene in time.

Both incidents shared a common thread: they were widely circulated on TikTok, a platform that dominates among my students. My instinct tells me that such content has no place on social media, yet it seems nearly impossible for platforms to manage the influx of disturbing uploads.

According to Morgan Sung from NBC News, the tragic fall of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson from a ride at ICON Park in Florida became a troubling trend on TikTok. Many creators labeled this trend as insensitive, yet videos racked up millions of views, often set to a popular song from the HBO series, Euphoria. Tragically, Yarnell Sampson, Tyre’s father, learned about his son's death through a viral video online.

As of late March, it was unclear if these videos continued to circulate, but reports indicated that Tyre's fall was still being shared on platforms like Twitter. Regulating human behavior on social media poses a significant challenge, especially when users actively share and view such content.

The insensitivity of these viral videos towards the grieving families is evident. My primary concern, however, centers around my students. Exposed to such graphic content at a young age, their mental well-being could be adversely affected. Reflecting on my own teenage years, I recall the frustration I felt toward any attempts to control my internet access. Yet, as an educator, I now understand the legitimate concerns from a parental or educational perspective.

Roxie Reeve, a social media expert and Director of Marketing at 3D Digital, suggests that one effective way to limit exposure to disturbing videos is to disable the “autoplay” feature on social media applications. Unfortunately, the responsibility of monitoring content falls heavily on users and their parents, as no comprehensive laws exist to govern social media content. While some companies, like Meta, have policies against graphic material, enforcement remains inconsistent.

After researching potential solutions to safeguard users, particularly children, it appears that personal discretion is the primary means of protection. The internet, by its very nature, is chaotic.

Section 1.2: The Ethics of Viewing Disturbing Content

Videos depicting death are not a new phenomenon online. Groups like ISIS have infamously shared graphic execution footage, and platforms like Reddit host communities such as r/WatchPeopleDie, dedicated to such content.

While these videos are distressing for the bereaved, they also raise questions about the impact on viewers. Kieran Dahl of The Guardian highlights the moral ambiguity surrounding the act of watching death online. Critics argue it amounts to exploitation, especially given the nature of the content typically shown—often violent and graphic in nature.

As of Dahl's writing, r/WatchPeopleDie boasted 425,000 subscribers. What drives such interest? The subreddit claims to provide a space for individuals to “observe and