Trolling as entertainment: The dark side of Internet fame

One viral video. That’s all it takes to go from being nobody to the internet’s new punching bag.

Take, for example, the Indian woman caught shoplifting at a Target store in the U.S., a grainy clip, millions of views, and now a global debate on cultural shame. Or the cheating couple on the Jumbotron at a Coldplay concert awkward glances, quick reactions and boom: meme material for months. And who could forget the 2017 London clip of Sunny Deol and Dimple Kapadia quietly holding hands? It re-emerges every few months like an old ghost, fueling gossip and finger-pointing.

In a world hungry for content, even someone else’s quiet disaster becomes your evening scroll session.

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The psychology of viral judgment

What’s wild is that none of these videos are professionally produced. They're raw. They're messy. They're real. And that’s what makes them irresistible. In the age of slick influencers and filtered posts, there’s something oddly thrilling about watching someone else get caught off guard. It triggers a strange mix of schadenfreude, moral superiority, and curiosity.

We don’t need to know these people to form opinions. A two-second clip is all it takes to crown someone as a villain or a victim.

The more you defend, the more they dig

The internet has a mean streak. Try explaining yourself? Now you're suspicious. Stay silent? You must be guilty. In today's cancel culture, silence and response both look like evidence. The woman at Target store in US might never recover from being ‘that thief online.’ The Coldplay couple, even if wrongly identified, are now part of ‘Top 10 Cheaters Compilation’ videos on YouTube. Sunny and Dimple? Forever romantic fugitives in the eyes of Twitter threads. Once your face is out there, you’re not a person anymore. You’re a digital persona the world projects onto.

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Trolling as a sport but is it justified?

Trolling has evolved into a hobby. Comments aren’t just opinions, they’re performances. People compete to drop the wittiest burn or most savage caption. But here’s the ethical problem: many of these viral targets are not public figures. They didn’t ask for this.

Yes, stealing is wrong. Cheating is messy. But do they deserve lifelong humiliation? A ruined career? Anxiety attacks from strangers doxxing their families?

There's a difference between calling out injustice and turning it into a virtual coliseum.

One clip away from chaos

In this Y2K-style return of public shame only now with smartphones instead of tabloids, the lesson is clear: there are cameras everywhere. From concert crowds to airport lounges, any moment can become content.

The internet doesn’t care if you are drunk, heartbroken, or having a bad day. It wants a story. And it always finds one.

So, here’s the real question:

Are we watching for entertainment… or are we participating in modern-day public punishment?