by Chris Haverstock
Over the past couple of weeks, there has been a rise in sensationalism among celebrities in our society. This has left a great amount of disdain for certain people that were once admired.
Also, you should take into consideration how much the fame really matters to you. You should be wary about how much you're going to offend innocent people who have nothing to do with the matter at all, too. For example, on December 31, 2017, a YouTube sensation by the name of Logan Paul made one of the most viral and controversial videos of all time. Paul and a couple of his friends went to Mount Fuji, Japan, also known as Suicide Forest, and filmed a video of a man who committed suicide in the forest. This act was controversial and is a prime example of what happens when you take it too far and harm others in the process.
Sensationalism should be handled with care and contemplated when it seems what you're about to do may be risky. You should be considerate of who you are affecting and remind yourself of your audience. Keep in mind that you are representing yourself and all you stand for when you upload yourself online, as you are influencing someone else's behavior. You should know when how far is too far.
While it's a well known factor that It accomplishes what it sets out to be, most of the time It is misleading, manipulating, and completely false. While I understand stretching things out to make it better is what a lot of people do, it is unnecessary to do that because you have a high risk of discrediting for yourself. Even if most people will give in no matter what, it is still distasteful for you to make false accusations and provide false info just to boost your views a little more.
The matter above also supports the idea of any press is good press to some people. While Paul never meant any harm, it was apparent that he knew he was going to be ridiculed for his actions regardless. That is a bad idea and not a good standard to live by because it shows how low you're willing to sink to get any bit of press possible. It also affects innocent lives, because what happens when the man’s kids see that? It will tear them apart.
"Sensationalism should be handled with care and contemplated when it seems what you're about to do may be risky."
Sensationalism is also a bad idea because at times it can promote racism. Whether it is making fun of other races or cultures, it can be a bad idea because one again, it is influencing an audience that regardless of age, will think that it is ok to promote racism in our society. Paul’s video, for example, heavily criticized and poked fun at the Japanese culture and mocking the people. It is, once again, wrong to engage in sensationalism because of the misinterpretations that might occur.
Sensationalism can serve as clickbait which leads to greater exposure for many people, but can also be very insulting and offensive to others. It can promote things that are way out of the ordinary, and can result in a number of miscalculations.