Well, maybe that's a little too strong. But, I have been noticing lately a lot of negative influences on kids that really bother me. I'll just take one for now: TV shows that are all about practical jokes. They've actually been around for a few years now, but I just caught on. I think the first one was Punk'd, which was created by Ashton Kutcher and aired on MTV from 2003 to 2007. He would play practical jokes on celebrities who were being filmed by a hidden camera and then, when they were extremely angry, upset, and frustrated, he would reveal that it was a practical joke by saying "You've been punk'd!"
This show became so popular that several countries have created their own version including: Iceland, Norway, Holland, India, Hong Kong as well as an Arabic version.
In addition to Punk'd, I discovered a show on Syfy channel called Scare Tactics. This one doesn't just bring their victims to a high level of anger, but to a high level of fear. The scare tactics include having the victim witnessing a murder or vicious attack that look real but use actors with makeup and fake blood. Once the person is sufficiently terrified, it's revealed to them that they shouldn't be scared because they're on Scare Tactics.
That's right. Ha Ha. We were just kidding. Now, this kind of joke does not go over well with me and shouldn't for anybody. What's really going on is innocent people are artificially brought to a high degree of anger, frustration, and fear and then told it's just a joke.
Well, some people can deal with that situation well, but many can't. Manipulating feelings to make people laugh is just mean and cruel. But to do it with a hidden camera and play it for millions to see is even worse.
Now, remember, these are adults who are playing the victim and, yes, they do have to sign a release in order for the episode to be aired on television.
But, I worry about all the kids watching who think it would be a great idea to do the same thing to their peers. Kids are much more sensitive, have lower self-esteem, and are much more vulnerable than adults to being humiliated by their peers. It's not easy to shake it off and move on. Kids can be cruel and often don't think about the consequences to their actions. They don't sit down and analyze whether Johnny will react positively to being humiliated or will he fall apart? Which kids will take it well and which kids won't?
Kids are so impressionable and are influenced by what they see on TV. They also have phones and cameras with video capability and can easily make their own videos today.
If we adults decide humiliating people by scaring them out of their mind or angering them to the point they want to attack someone and then revealing it's just a joke, then we need to accept the fact that kids will attempt to copy us.
Is that what we really want? Is this who we really want to be as a society? Is this really what we define as entertainment? Is this what we consider humorous? If so, I think we have a lot of growing up to do, for our sake and for our kids' sake.
Especially if you care, like I do, about kids becoming good people.
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