Online Content: Weight of Responsibility

Maybe a bitter boomer would blame young people not using common sense, however, at what point does the creator of the video have to take responsibility for what happens if someone attempts to copy their methods, and fails? Should a creator have to admit if a ‘DIY’ video is not completely DIY? And is there a reasonable exception of creators to have faith in their viewers to not attempt, or at least, to not incorrectly attempt to copy what they upload? 

All of this really depends on whether the method is dangerous and the results are falsified in order order to get attention for the video.

These questions were raised as a result of years of humiliations, injuries and even deaths as a result of people or children attempting to copy something they’ve seen done online. 

This comes after Chinese news reported that in September 2019, a 14 year old girl died and another 12 year old girl was injured after the pair attempted to copy an online hack to create popcorn using a can, alcohol, and a flame. Who holds accountability if someone dies or gets injured when attempting to copy something, and does this weight change when the victim is a child?

It did not take Chinese internet users long to find the supposed source of the girls inspiration, Office Chef Ms. Yeah, a 25 year old Chinese Internet influencer, who is known for coming up with clever ‘hacks’ using things that one could presumably find in any office. Following this discovery, the internet reacted like it normally would to a situation like this, by sending copious amounts of hate-comments and even death threats to Ms. Yeah, to the point where she felt responsible enough for the death of the 14 year old, that she personally funded the family’s hospital bills and posted a lengthy apology to her social media, despite explaining that she believes the victims used a different method to hers. 

When someone dies in an attempt to copy someone’s video, or an idea that they find on the internet (viral DIY videos being the perfect source of inspiration), how much responsibility should the creator take?

There is already an expectation for responsible creators to include some kind of warning if what they are uploading is dangerous, often it is something along the lines of ‘do not try this at home’. 

However, sometimes that isn’t enough, or the results produced in the video are faked. This is sometimes the case with DIY videos, in which they really make the impossible happen, with either clever editing or are just flat-out false advertising. For instance, many ‘hacks’ can easily be debunked as stupid at least, and dangerous at worst. So what responsibility should a creator take in making sure that a vulnerable and naive type of viewer— like a child, won’t see it, think it’s easy to make popcorn with alcohol, a can and a flame, and serious hurt themselves or die in the process? 

There seems to be no sign of click-bait ever slowing down, with hundreds of videos being pumped out by numerous channels on a weekly basis, the trend will not stop until people stop clicking on video

s with thumbnails that show redundant or outright dangerous things. There is also no doubt that people and children won't stop copying what they see online, without thinking about the concept of someone making a fake results to make it look like their hack works.

Personally, I believe that there is some degree of responsibility (or awareness, at least), that someone should take when they are a content creator, especially if they are aware that their viewer-base are dominantly children. At the same time, there should be warnings if the results of a ‘hack’ are fake, it shouldn’t take another YouTuber who has some degree of credibility to call them out on it. 

Of course there is a line between content being silly clickbait and content that actually encourages people to try something that could go horribly wrong.

No matter how the story is spun, it is a complicated issue and it does not show any signs of ending, especially with more and more people turning to the internet for entertainment or inspiration, or even just to make money from their ideas, be they real or fake hacks.