The SMS craze is the crave to trend by any and all means necessary. Sounds funny right? but in the world of social media today, that is the reality. As with any new innovation or invention, there is always a tendency for abuse or misuse if not used or utilized in a wholesome or productive manner. That is the case with social media specifically and the entertainment industry in general.
There are apparently no limits anymore as to how far people can go to be the next trending hashtag or personality on social media. If it was for a good cause or the right reasons, it would or might have been acceptable. However even in achieving a good purpose, there are always limits or boundaries that shouldn't be exceeded. For indeed the end does not always justify the means, the means is also as important as the end itself.
The sometimes unhealthy crave or craze to trend on social media now has a name in some quarters. It has been tagged as 'savagery'. Ordinarily, the word savagery connotes negativity or primitiveness. Little wonder the Oxford Dictionary of English defines the word as the:
quality of being fierce or cruel or condition of being primitive or uncivilized:
Savagery on social media or simply social media savagery (SMS) is now taken as an excuse for rudeness and impoliteness by some just to please the gallery of followers. It is a craze to do something out of the context of normal in order to earn accolades. It can get to the extreme of putting one's life or the lives of others at risk simply to get a like or a new follower or followership. It is therefore not surprising to see that the Urban Dictionary describes it as:
"when someone commits an act which shows no regard for feelings nor privacy"
In some instances it is an attempt to be funny which was ill-timed or simply went wrong. Instances are abound of SMS gone wrong. From a guy putting his life at risk by standing close to the ledge of a high rise building to take a selfie to outright fabrications of tales about events or personalities in a malicious attempt to expose or 'call them out' as it now termed. Sometimes things can go awfully wrong with SMS especially when it results in emotional or physiological trauma for some parties involved. It could even result in casualties. Sometimes there's a thin line between SMS and cyberbullying hence the need to tread with utmost caution.
SMS now plays such a prominent role in our lives today such that even known brands or establishments are now getting aboard the 'moving' train. They now employ it in order to drive traffic to their products or get attention for their brand. It could be:
a 'harmless' punchline or witty response which is aimed at taking a jab at the 'competition' or sometimes degenerate to having altercations with aggrieved or unsatisfied customers.
It is obvious though that SMS has come to stay and won't be leaving the stage in the foreseeable future. Who knows it may become a course to be studied in a university somewhere just as 'corruption studies' is. It might even get its own institute. If SMS must be put to good use, did I really just write that? then the certain limits (which I doubt is possible) or caution must be exercised by those utilizing it especially corporate bodies or brands as perceived insensitivity or wrong timing could backfire and the attempt at SMS would turn out to be shooting oneself in the foot.
The big question is how far are you willing to go to trend?
Shukran
Danke
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for reading.
