EDITORIAL - All for the likes

Misguided social media content creators are at it again.

The Highway Patrol Group recently invited two men for their antics at the Transcentral Highway. While one video shows them dressing up in superhero costumes and showing off moves to people in passing vehicles --something that is relatively acceptable-- another showed them risking their lives driving the twists and turns of the highway in a modified tricycle.

The HPG said what they did was dangerous.

"Actually dili g’yud na siya bawal as long as dili siya hazardous nga maka-create na hinoon og aksidente sa kadalanan just like sa ilang gibuhat nga mosakay sila and ang ilang gisakyan nga tricycle. Ang motor ato is a 650 CC, so bigbike gibutangan lang og sidecar intended for that so kusog kaayo to modagan and then nag curve gud to diha hapit mahulog si Son Goku," said HPG-7 Regional Chief Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, referring to the character one of the creators was dressed up as.

It’s really amazing what lengths some people will go to just to create content for posting and getting likes. Some are willing to resort to the silly and even the dangerous.

Remember that just last February, two adults and three minors were arrested after they placed candles in the middle of a dark road in Sitio Arapal, Barangay Anonang Sur, Bogo City, then dressed as a White Lady to scare passing motorists. The five said they carried out the prank so they could record it and put it online.

The place where they did this was one prone to accidents. It was just lucky that no one was hurt as a result of their antics. The same way it was also lucky no one got hurt in this Transcentral Highway affair.

Of course, it could have been worse, and the two content creators could have ended up featured in a news story about an accident. But that way they would still get likes, right?

Again, people like content creators must be able to determine between what is safe and responsible fun and what is something irresponsible that can lead to them, or others, getting hurt. Some likes are just not worth some stunts.

Like they say, it’s always fun and games until someone loses an eye. Or in this case breaks a bone, or gets killed or, worse, gets others killed as well.