It is astounding just how frequently people in our generation document their lives.
Day-to-day tasks such as cooking receive special treatment on Instagram, collections of ‘selfies’ with pets are posted onto Facebook and sporadic thoughts are reduced to 140 characters on the Twittersphere.
Vine swung onto the landing pad that is social media last year and brought a new twist to the “app” scene. But users have become very creative, perhaps too creative, with the application.
Users can create six seconds of looping videos on Vine, and the captured scenes can be shot at various intervals.
Ideally, the creators of Vine envisioned people posting something as lovely as a walk in the park or otherwise forgettable moments during a night out.
That occurs with some accounts, but there are far more people who post lewd and questionable content with the intent of being funny.
I find myself falling in the category of those who love stupid humor, so it works. But it’s not for everyone. With e-mails, tweets, likes, notifications, texts, you name it, Vine was just another thing for me to check.
I initially withdrew from the application because of the less frequent posts, and it was difficult to find posts worthwhile to watch.
As if they read my mind, Vine rolled out the “revine” option, which lets users re-post videos that other users originally posted.
So, instead of a video appearing on my feed with only two likes, I can easily see videos that garnered much more attention.
The official description of Vine specifically states that those who wish to create an account must be 17 years of age; there is no way to strictly enforce such a rule, unless you’re a part of the National Security Agency.
So, with kids in elementary school wielding iPods at all times from recess to dinner (something that is still beyond me), young eyes are bound to see some questionable content that Mom and Dad wouldn’t otherwise allow.
It doesn’t help there is no way of knowing what you will be watching until you tap “play.”
Take the subject of ethnic stereotypes on Vine. They might be incredibly offensive to some, or they might have viewers laughing at the undeniable truth in it.
For me, they are hilarious, but only when created with taste. For instance, “The Spanish Word of the Day” for Vine user TheEdwinSanchez on September 6, was “wheelchair,” because “there’s only one doughnut left, so ‘wheelchair (we’ll share).’” My mom has a bit of an accent, so I could not help but chuckle at the terrible joke. Another category that is a hit on Vine is “Voice Over.” Users record and manipulate scenes from movies, television shows, or even real life, and dub it over with a new script.
With a plethora of swearing and a dash of sexual content, a new scene is produced from something that began as an innocent image.
I spit out my coffee when I came across LaLa the Teletubbie breaking it down and twerking to “Boss A** B****” in the background. The lack of content advisory could leave an 8-year-old with the same reaction as me (except with apple juice, maybe).
Children could easily see these jokes and not realize what they mean. It is a Russian Roulette of mixed clips, but it could potentially make an impact on a child’s behavior over time.
It may sound far-fetched, but we must not forget how easily children are influenced by cyberspace. It’s an infinite playground with zero limits.
Kattey Ortiz can be contacted at kortiz@keene-equinox.com