How do you feel about seeing people "generating content" in public?

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

I guess it just shows my age, but I always feel extremely odd whenever I'm walking down the street or going somewhere and I happen to spot someone recording an Instagram reel or TikTok video right there and then, mostly because they look and act like it's the most natural thing in the world (and hey! Maybe it is!).

I don't really take issue with the whole thing, but it's just too odd when they ask me (a complete stranger they know nothing about and could very well rob them blind) to take their picture of help them record, or when they start talking about the place we are both in like it's the subject of a damn infomercial... Or they start dancing for the camera.

NOW: I'm not going to sit here and pretend like it's a new problem (I used to live in a paradisiacal city way before the smartphone era and the amount of times people would ask me to be their damn cameraman was staggering), but I have never seen it in such volumes, and done by people this young.

It makes me feel distinctly out of place, if that makes sense.

What do you think, though?

 

[SpikeSlania]

Luckily I don't live in a city. No wait... I do... Luckily I don't go outside and walk around in the city. As long as they arent bothering other people it's fine. But the problem is the rise of IRL Nuisance streamers. I know a big one that is looking at 20 years in a South Korean prison is Johnny Somalia. But as long as they're not bothering anyone, I would just think it is odd and move on, but with social trends now days.....

 

[Antilocal123]

I don't really care, I just make sure to get in their shot and forget the encounter.

But if it’s a family streamer I always make sure to punt the baby South Park Style! /j

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

As long as they're not recording random people in gyms to slander them for existing or doing whatever those Kick streamers are doing, I don't care.
I just hate pictures though.

 

[CheelaCheela's icon]

as a vtuber is weird for me seing IRL people making content even though i am not exactly free from the weirdness. :3

 

[Sir Auriel of Lionel]

Cringe, absolute cringe. If it's outside and you can mistake it for someone facetiming or meant to be traveler's guide or virtual tour that's fine, I get it. But really? You need to film your grocery cart at the local food mart or Dollarama? That's joke and I'm laughing at you. But I'm glad most have been very respectful since a good chunk of the guys that I've seen with giant cameras that make film students jealous only at night so no one is bothered or caught on cam not these dollar store moms.

 

[Xdqwerty]

My brain would want me to go like "hey mom! I'm on TV!"

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Just for a bit of added context: the three things that compelled me to write this thing were...

The time I was heading back home and was suddenly stopped by a girl (maybe 16) asking me to take her picture as she stroke a couple of poses near a landmark. I didn't mind helping her but, again, what if I made off with her phone? The fact that she wasn't at all brothered by that chance really creeped me out haha.

Every. Single. Time I walk by the school zone in my area (and there's four schools within meters of each other) and I see nothing but parents recording and picturing their kids as they make it into the building. Hey, I get it, I'm proud too! But it's just very odd to witness, especially because you just know they are tagging the schools next. It makes the security freak inside of me have a meltdown.

Third one is very tame, but... way too many people dance in public places XD

 

[Mr. Daddy]

I've never actually seen anyone making content in public, but I live in an area where that's not really something anyone does. Much more likely to see a bunch of guys standing around in their lawn on their third case of beer.​

 

[Sir Auriel of Lionel]

Eh I think that says a lot on people's trust or maybe naïvety of believing in people to help them, plenty of tourists do this not much influencer point but just everyday people. I got asked to do this by 3 brothers and I feared it was a kidnapping ploy to get my guard down but no they really wanted a pic in the lot of a foodmart. My guess is they all came back home for the holidays and wanted a pic to commemorate.

For the school thing it could be just our generation doesn't think about online safety when they're so open and unafraid to document their lives online because they haven't gotten any repercussions from it yet and hopefully don't.

Dancing is really weird tho couldn't do that.

 

[fake-kun]

I've never seen it myself, but I live in a podunk, so my experiences don't count.

 

[DunkeyKong]

Idk, if it's something like dancing though, I'd try dancing with them if I could, just to be silly for a moment. Like this one for example

 

[Zachery2112]

Every time I see them, I lift my cane above my head and shake it while shouting, "Back in my day, if you wanted to be annoying in the street we'd shoot them." I do this while having no sense of self-reflection. It's a good pastime, I do it several times a day.

In all seriousness, I just ignore them. Walk by them, in front of the shot sometimes. Just go about my day without being bothered. If they want to film in a public street then they should accept the fact that it is a street.

 

[ATenderLad]

If it doesn't involve me at all? No opinion.
If I'm about to be drop-kicked for a prank? Concerning, alarming, there should be a law.

 

[Tonberry]

I like when the town drunk is ”generating content” by the town square fountain after a wild night.

(Edit: I have been informed by my lawyer that I am required to tell you that I am the town drunk)

 

[Adrastia]

I find it annoying and try to stay out of camera range.

 

[Prism_Red]

I HATE being on camera, even my picture is blank on school year book, the easiest thing to piss me off is to aim a camera at me.

Anyone within my proximity who lifts and aim their phone, I assume they gonna take photos or vids or whatever, I just give them a mean look and they almost always scram. If I somehow got shot, I WILL approach and demand them to delete their picture like a raging 60 years old boomer. I have yeeted stranger's phone in public twice, I do not feel sorry about it one bit.

Added extra font size, bold, and red coloring for emphasis.

 

[Stingy Perry]

It’s okay I guess as long as they don’t become an obstruction or a nuisance in public. Irl content creators should be respectful and responsible for every actions they made. I hope that I won’t see another Johnny Somali or that Vitaly who got arrested in my country and now facing a 24 year jail sentence if he got convicted.

 

[DeeboDeebo's icon]

Seeing people have fun on their phones in public is generally charming to me, though I agree with @Waffles and think that people overdocument their children.

HOWEVER
I also HATE being recorded in public, by chance or intentionally it does not matter to me. I have a lot of trauma around people sneaking videos and photos of me and have definitely seized and or/thrown peoples' phones many times before. I relate to @Prism_Red here lol, but I was in a very specific situation here and generally I'd advice to be careful about confronting strangers.

People have gotten way too comfortable photographing and recording people in public and it's very weird and mean!!!!! I really try to understand that potentially being in the background of things is inevitable, but people sometimes don't know when to stop.

I was out bowling earlier this month and had to change lanes bc the guy next to me was recording his sincerely terrible throws for what ended up feeling like a half hour, and was still doing it when we moved. Like, I was uncomfortable from the jump bc it seemed like my legs and skirt were in the edge of the shot, so I took a break from playing, conspicuously uncomfortable after a while, and he never stopped. Ughh I just backspaced the rest of that story bc it's kind of upsetting, but my point is that it's very disturbing to have to choose: be forced to appear in some stupid production, or retreat away from what you were enjoying.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

People have gotten way too comfortable photographing and recording people in public and it's very weird and mean!!!!!

I agree completely.

In fact, not too long ago I saw something that was SUPPOSED (key word) to be "inspirational"... which was the picture of a kid (around nine years of age) fiddling with a phone while his grandpa sat right in front of him on some McDonald's.

The poster tried to make a point out how the kid didn't appreciate his grandpa and what have you, but the entire time I sat there thinking about how that jerk had the GALL to picture a couple of strangers and upload their photo, inventing a whole narrative around it without having the slightest clue of what their relationship was actually like.

Far from the only case, too.

Ugh!

 

[Yousef]

I hate it >:((
I’m almost privileged to live in a place where that’s never an occurrence.
I absolutely disapprove of taking pics without consent.
I actually LEGIT got into an argument with someone about this and ughhhh I hated how apathetic they sounded about it >;(((
I told them this is a big no-no and that being young or traveling is no excuse. On the contrary, the more there’s people, the more reason to be cautious of how you act.

I HATE being on camera, even my picture is blank on school year book, the easiest thing to piss me off is to aim a camera at me.

Anyone within my proximity who lifts and aim their phone, I assume they gonna take photos or vids or whatever, I just give them a mean look and they almost always scram. If I somehow got shot, I WILL approach and demand them to delete their picture like a raging 60 years old boomer. I have yeeted stranger's phone in public twice, I do not feel sorry about it one bit.

Added extra font size, bold, and red coloring for emphasis.

ROCK ON!!!!

 

[DeeboDeebo's icon]

I agree completely.

In fact, not too long ago I saw something that was SUPPOSED (key word) to be "inspirational"... which was the picture of a kid (around nine years of age) fiddling with a phone while his grandpa sat right in front of him on some McDonald's.

The poster tried to make a point out how the kid didn't appreciate his grandpa and what have you, but the entire time I sat there thinking about how that jerk had the GALL to picture a couple of strangers and upload their picture, inventing a whole narrative around it without having the slightest clue of what their relationship was like.

Far from the only case, too.

Ugh!

To be photographed, posted, and have a narrative spun about me by twitter is truly hell

 

[DunkeyKong]

he never stopped.

 

[Grumpy_Old_Man]

Hate this... Thankfully the whole pictures and filming isn't as common in my usual hangouts.
Although I see a lot of the so called "Smartphone zombies", walking, driving, crossing high speed freeways, I've seen a few of this "angels" literally flying(hit by a cars and trains). They put people in danger with their reckless abandon.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

but I was in a very specific situation here and generally I'd advice to be careful about confronting strangers.

That's right.

Generally speaking, escalating the situation like that hardly puts you in the right, and it completely erases any good points you may have had (with a few glaring exceptions... I have seen what people with "hidden cameras" can do, and it deserves far worse than destruction of property). There's also the unspoken risk of the unknown: you literally have no idea what the other party may be carrying. I, myself, have two knives on at all times just in case someone sees me as an easy target.