[{"_1":2,"_30":-5,"_31":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4},"routes/__layout/tag.$name",{"_5":6,"_7":8},"tagName","youth culture","posts",[9],{"_10":11,"_12":13,"_14":15,"_16":17,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":23,"_24":25,"_26":27,"_28":29},"id",581,"title","Self-correcting","excerpt","\"Happy slapping\" -- assaulting strangers on video phone -- turns out to be self-correcting. Actual assault is risky, so kids just slap each other and fake it. Net result: idiots hitting themselves to look cool. Darwin's got this one covered.","body","\r\n\r\n

You may or may not have heard of the concept of \"happy slaps, a craze of dubious authenticity apparently sweeping the nation. It involves teenagers -- unruly, out-of-control, antisocial, densensitized to violence by video games, insert your pet theory here -- who assault a random stranger with a slap, capture it on their video phone, and then distribute the video (warning: link contains ads not safe for work) via their phones, to gain the respect and adulation of their peers.\r\n\r\n

Apart from jokes about this being a use I'm sure 3 didn't think of when they touted video messaging, this is a pretty horrible idea. Luckily, it's also a self-correcting one, as I discovered when walking home from work the other day and came across a gang of four kids with video phones, slapping themselves in the face and laughing.\r\n\r\n

Because, you see, actually slapping a total stranger is a serious risk -- they could retaliate, and if they caught you, assault is a serious crime. So the easy and risk-free way is to stage an assault with your friends, and video that.\r\n\r\n

So if the net result of this craze is that a bunch of idiotic kids are beating the crap out of themselves in an effort to be cool, I'm all for it. Darwin will take care of this.","updated",["D",1116169262000],"created",["D",1116169262000],"codename","selfcorrecting","legacy_id","3244","published",["D",1116169262000],"draft",false,"actionData","errors"]

Posts tagged “youth culture”