Undoubtedly, social media has provided a means of livelihood for many people. From comedians, who put their videos online and get paid in dollars, to a new breed of professional pranksters, who amass millions of views playing expensive pranks on unsuspecting public members, social media has become a place for creatives to make fortunes.
Since those prank videos provide comic relief for some, the consensus is that they are becoming too expensive, extreme, risky and distasteful.
It must be said, however, that joke videos are by no means an innovation. In some countries, such as the United States of America and Nigeria, this action has been part of pop culture for some time.
Popular prank shows and videos in and outside Nigeria include ‘Scare Tactics’, ‘Impractical Jokers’, ‘Candid Camera’, ‘Punk’D’, and ‘Kraks Pranks’, among others. Most of the listed programmes were handled by media organisations and were regulated by relevant stakeholders, especially in the broadcast industry.
But with the advent of social media platforms, largely unregulated in Nigeria, a new generation of pranksters has emerged. In many cases, they throw caution to the wind and leave sour tastes in the mouths of those they play pranks on.
Some days ago, a prank video went viral on social media. It showed a young girl who had entered an apartment for ‘hook-up’ (prostitution). Shortly after she got into the house, a man dressed in red and white like a voodoo priest stepped out and said she was to be used for a ritual.
Expectedly, the girl burst into tears and pleaded desperately for her life. She was eventually informed that it was a prank, but not after she had been turned into an emotional wreck.
A former President of the Nigeria Medical Association, Dr Francis Faduyile, opined that playing pranks on people posed health challenges that should not be overlooked.
In an interview, he said, “There are different levels of tolerance, as regards how people can withstand stress. This also has to do with the state of the person’s health. There have been many cases of people who collapsed and died upon hearing bad news. So, playing pranks on people could be costly. Chronic or acute stress could be fatal.”
A lawyer, Idris Balogun, cautioned pranksters to be careful of the types of pranks they played, as they could be held liable for both criminal and civil wrongs.
He said, “Pranks may be for entertainment purposes but if any injury is suffered by the victim — be it physical, emotional, mental or psychological — the prankster risks getting prosecuted for criminal liabilities, civil liabilities; or even both.”
