In recent “influencers being dumb as fuck” news, a TikToker got arrested again for violating a court order related to a prior arrest. To make a long story short, this person is another one of those “pranksters” that harasses and borderline assaults people, and even walked into some random person’s home acting like he owned the place. Now, coming off the heels of similar news where people are getting attacked and even killed for doing less, it begs the question: why?

It can be argued that clout-chasers are just following the money. They see other people getting attention and even paid for harassing and assaulting people in public. Then, there’s the people that lie about having cancer or a kid with a disability to bilk GoFundMe donations. But then, there are people who are just looking for attention. The class clowns that never grew up. The perma-victims who have EVERYTHING in their life go wrong. The pot-stirrers who only post about the latest drama in their life because they had a direct hand in it.

Where does one draw the line? Wouldn’t you say “Hey, this thing I’m doing could potentially get me beaten up, arrested or killed! I should probably fucking stop!” I mean, there’s no way a YouTube partnership or even likes and comments are worth going to jail, getting shot, or someone dying. But, still, some are willing to go the distance for the money or the attention, even when it turns them into a fucking clown.

I realize that hindsight is 20/20, and no one can truly predict how clout-chasing will go. I mean, shit, Bhad Bhabie went from acting like a jackass to being a rapper and working with Fashion Nova. But, the anonymous clout-chaser that’s pretending to steal jewelry from a store is not the same as a rebellious teen that got lucky. You’re putting store employees on edge and causing panic because you think it’s funny, not because you’re trying to break free of whatever restrictions you feel were imposed on you.

When asked about the negative impacts of clout chasing, people will say something dumb like “Whatever gets me attention, I don’t care if it’s hate.” “All publicity is good publicity!” No, you stupid git, it’s not. If you fuck up hard enough, you will ALWAYS be known as “the dumbass YouTuber that shot her boyfriend to death.” Or “the dumbass Instagrammer that almost ruined two innocent people’s lives by accusing them of trying to steal her kids.“

At least the chick that shot her boyfriend for YouTube clout felt REMORSE after what happened. But, regardless of what she is doing now, people continue to comment on her socials with emojis of books and guns.

If I were to ask a chronic clout chaser something, it would be this: What happens when you become irrelevant? You can’t keep doing the same “pranks” because eventually it gets stale. You can only harass people in public so many times before you mess with the wrong one and get your shit pushed in. There’s only so many “story times” you can have about negative shit before it gets to be too much for the viewers, and they move on to happier pastures. Trends come and go; sometimes they are lucky to be cyclical, and come back with renewed love and affection. But, that is reserved for things like “Gangsta’s Paradise” or that weird mustache era of the 2010s, not tackling random people and calling it “leap frog with strangers.”

Everyone wants to feel important in some way. Everyone wants to leave behind a legacy. But, what would you rather be known for after you died? Being a pillar of the community? Someone who improved the lives of others? Someone who created something that will truly stand the test of time?

Or that asshole that crashed a plane for the views?