The flip the camera trend: TikTok’s newest bullying trend

Since social media became popular, being bullied in person was not the only issue one had to worry about, as cyberbullying has been and continues to be an issue.

The Flip the Camera trend is one of TikTok’s newest and most popular trends to emerge, and it has sparked concerns due to its bullying nature.

The trend, which first emerged in late October, operates under deception. It involves either one, or a group of people giving their phone to someone, leaving the latter under the impression that they will be recording the person, or the group who handed them their phone. However, before handing over the phone, the person or the group ask the person holding the phone to have the outer camera facing towards them, which makes the person holding the camera think those “being recorded” want to see themselves as they dance, or do another challenge, but that’s not the case. The unsuspected victim is being asked to hold the phone a particular way so that those involved can secretly capture a humiliating close-up of them, which they are unaware of. The camera flippers would then post the clip online for millions of viewers to comment on and mock them.

While some view it as just another ‘harmless trend,’ many adults and teens do not find this trend to be funny and have not held back on calling those out who fail to understand they’re bullying people.

“That person agreed to hold the camera to be kind, not to get bullied online,” said TikTok user hhyy, who explained that people are using the trend as an excuse for their bullying.

Jools Lebron, the creator of the “Very Demure” trend, which went viral last year, condemned the challenge and referred to it as a form of bullying in an emotional video.

These types of trends also feed into the generalization that young people are clout-chasers. Not all, but too many people are willing to gain a huge following and garner a ton of likes and views at the expense of other people.

It’s been noted from time and time again that bullying is extremely harmful to the victims. We also must note that once something is posted on the internet, it cannot be taken back.

Sure, it might be fun to go viral, but it’s never worth it if someone gets hurt in the process. If you want to participate in a popular challenge, that’s fine. However, there are plenty of light-hearted trends you can do that don’t involve another person getting hurt.