A social media “celebrity” has discovered that his status can carry a gigantic consequence because of thoughtless behavior.
Logan Paul, a young man I’d never heard of before this past week, is now at the center of a social media scandal that threatens to swallow him whole.
He is a YouTube “star” who had the incredibly bad taste to take a picture of a man who had hanged himself in a park in Japan.
Paul has now been scorned around the world for what he did. He took the video, then joked about it. He carried on as he does with the medium, which I understand has earned him a lot of money. His money-earning days might be over. Am I concerned for him? Not in the least.
I haven’t seen the picture he posted on YouTube; it was brought down immediately.
Paul has apologized to his “fans” for his disgusting behavior. He has declared his apology as well to the family of the man he recorded.
I don’t want to comment too much about what he did. Other than to say he has committed a disgusting and disgraceful act.
What is worth a brief comment on this blog, though, is the rise of this “instant celebrity” status that social media often produce. Twitter accounts feature people who post idiotic messages that get a “following” of sort out there in that particular social media sphere. The same can be said of YouTube.
People can become celebrities overnight if they establish a fan base that follows these clowns’ goings-on. Logan Paul is one of those celebs who has enriched himself through the goofy comedy routines he posts on that medium.
I remember a time — pre-social media — when individuals had to demonstrate actual talent to develop the level of following we are seeing these days. I am aware that TV game-show contestants often filled our screens with nutty behavior and utterances.
The ranks of social media celebrities has exploded in recent years. They’re everywhere. They are ubiquitous — and they make lots of money.
What this clown Logan Paul did shows what happens when we laugh out loud at the actions of individuals who don’t have the maturity or the good judgment to handle the status they have attained.