Instagram Hides All Posts with 'Rear Camera Prank' Hashtag
Concerns Rise Over Dangerous Challenge Spreading Among MZ Generation
The recent trend of the 'rear camera prank' on social media has emerged as a social issue, with a story circulating online about a man facing a breakup crisis after his girlfriend played this prank on him, sparking heated debate among netizens.
Participation verification photos that appear when you search for 'rear camera prank' on SNS. [Photo by X (formerly Twitter) capture]
Recently, a post titled "Got in trouble for copying my girlfriend's Instagram video" was uploaded to an online community.
The author, identified as Mr. A, wrote, "I dropped my girlfriend off and said goodbye to her in the car. But when I put the car in reverse to pull out, the sensor kept beeping. As I looked around, I discovered a shocking situation."
Mr. A explained, "I thought my girlfriend had gone inside, but she had secretly walked behind the car and was pressing her face against the rear camera. It was meant to be a fun prank, but it was such a dangerous moment that I got angry and asked if she was trying to get herself hurt."
This prank involves surprising the driver by suddenly pressing one's face against the rear camera of a reversing vehicle. It is currently one of the most popular 'challenges'-where a person performs an action, posts proof, and nominates the next participant-among the MZ Generation on social networking services (SNS).
However, after being hurt by Mr. A's reaction, his girlfriend reportedly stopped responding to all his attempts to contact her and disappeared. Mr. A lamented, "I know it was just a joke. But she could have died doing that. I really hope people stop doing these kinds of pranks."
Netizens who read the story commented, "There are some really strange trends out there," "I'm afraid kids will imitate this," and "People don't seem to grasp how serious this is."
On the other hand, some netizens responded, "Maybe she just wanted to make a good memory with her boyfriend," and "It was just a prank-getting that angry was too much."
Instagram Hides All Posts with 'Rear Camera Prank' Hashtag
Instagram has hidden posts tagged with the hashtag 'RearCameraPrank' for safety reasons. [Photo by Instagram]
Meanwhile, as the controversy continued, Instagram decided to hide all posts tagged with 'RearCameraPrank.' The platform determined that the trend could potentially threaten public safety.
Previously, Instagram had announced that it would remove content violating its community guidelines. The guidelines cover topics such as: intellectual property, appropriate imagery, spam, illegal content, hate speech, bullying and abuse, self-harm, and violent images. The platform also specified that if there is a risk of physical injury or potential harm to public safety, it may cooperate with law enforcement to remove posts as necessary.
Dangerous challenges that could result in loss of life are rapidly spreading through SNS. According to data compiled by Bloomberg Businessweek, at least 20 minors died while attempting such challenges over an 18-month period up to November 2022.
In October, a challenge involving holding or controlling one's breath to the point of fainting became popular, as did challenges where people took excessive amounts of cold medicine or allergy medication to experience hallucinations.
In response, Meta, which operates Instagram and Facebook, has established guidelines to quickly review and remove or hide dangerous content when it is reported. TikTok, for its part, has implemented measures such as content removal, search redirection, and warning labels to prevent the spread of hazardous trends.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
