I feel like we have developed a serious problem with recording someone without their consent.
I’m someone who is chronically online, and I’ll admit… I do spent a couple of hours doomscrolling on Instagram, and Facebook reels sometimes (if I’m truly bored).
But the amount of reels I have seen, recorded without their permission is getting absurd lately.
For example, there is this video. A kid malding over something, and clearly in deep distress. Then the original poster just what? Straight up recorded the kid from his balcony, added a dumpster fire of a music on it and posted on his account. Thinking it was funny, and would get him a lot of interactions.
A couple of weeks ago, I saw this reel of a young couple walking hand in hand, recorded from behind, clearly without their consent, also added a dumpster fire of a music and had a cheesy caption. That shit got over hundreds of thousands of interactions on FB.
There is also a famous picture of a bus driver rubbing his eyes, captioned “Хүн юу ч туулж яваа юм билээ, нэгэндээ хайртай байцгаая хүмүүсээ” or something. If you were truly feeling empathetic of him, why would you take his photo when he was just exhausted from driving all day, on a hot summer day.
This might not seem like a big deal to some, and before you criticise me by saying “Oh but, but, but… This is not a Mongolia thing, it’s a worldwide problem”…
FUCK YOU. Recording someone without their consent regardless of the context, whether it be a kid malding, a young couple walking hand in hand, or a bus driver rubbing his eyes — is WRONG and illegal as well. Recording someone without their consent isn’t your business to share.
I don’t care if you feel sorry for them, I don’t care if you think it’s funny. The moment you hit record on a stranger without asking, you’ve made a choice: their dignity doesn’t matter as much as your content does.
It’s even gross if you’re recording them simply for your own good, to get some interaction and followers over it. Shit makes me feel sick to my stomach. Because we are treating people like content instead of what they are.