The latest challenge is here. There is a new dare that your friends and everyone else are trying.
You think that you will do it too, record it, and put it on <blank> social media site. You will be famous! 15 minutes of fame. Brilliant! (Wash and repeat.)
To those who regularly participate in the latest trends on social media and the Internet at large, and reality television this is not something new. Some of these challenges are very positive, and there is no shame for association. Calls to action or challenges that are created to help charitable causes bring attention to worthy goals and help disseminate knowledge to produce corresponding change or call to action. This contrasts with other promotions that encourage people to break the law, cause injury to one’s self or to others.
What is clear from what is occurring in these scenarios is the bandwagon effect where people want to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves. When witnessing the outreach and seeing the likes and views of a topic or the promotion of through video, some viewers are led to believe that many people are participating. Another powerful motivator is the desire to be famous. People who have prolonged fame from acting, professional sports or from service have seemingly perfect lives when evaluating positive media coverage of their accomplishments and public lives. They have money, prestige, name recognition, and respect. Then there is the temptation to pursue sudden fame through reality television or from viral social media self-promotion. If it can happen to them, why can it not happen to me?
There is nothing wrong with pursuing dreams and aspirations. However, it can be risky to try and achieve the perfect viral moment. Instead of building something, overcoming barriers to realize a goal, or completing something most people would find challenging, ambitious people want to create the next sensational hit. This is a lonely pursuit. If you discover something or do something even if people do not recognize your accomplishment or how you contributed to something great you will still have the knowledge and pride in the fact that you completed this task. Attempts at viral sensations on the other hand either fail or succeed and will be mostly forgotten as time goes by. At worst, it won't look good on a resume:(
There is also the possibility if people remember it is only because the ambitious undertaking was outrageous and embarrassing for those who were involved. Even further, it will probably still be there years down the line when the participants are pursuing other opportunities or applying for employment. This does not mean that you should not try and make your dreams a reality. This is just a word of caution. Are you pursuing your own dream, following someone else’s or failing to dream at all?
