"In this social media trend, someone from a group hands a smartphone to an unsuspecting bystander and asks them to film the group doing a dance or routine. They then flip the camera to record the bystander who is doing the filming, and then post the video online, often with commentary mocking the person doing the filming. This is being described in the media as a form of bullying and public humiliation (Annabel, 2025; Robinson, 2025; USA Today, 2025)."
"Research informs that when any form of bullying or social humiliation becomes social or societal entertainment, society risks losing its moral compass. And if this is taking place, then society is a danger to itself (Agustiningsih et al., 2024; Borrego-Ruiz & Fernández, 2024; Kosmyna et al., 2025; López-Mora et al., 2024; Naik et al., 2025; Neumann & Rhodes, 2024; Ray et al., 2024; Van Bavel et al., 2024)."
"Psychologists and neuroscientists warn that trends like "flip the camera" exploit others, which is extremely concerning for their physical, mental, emotional, and broader social well-being. Research has also found that social media use negatively impacts the brain, attention, memory, executive function, and language development in children and young adults. These are the very skills needed for learning, resilience, and moral and ethical decision‑making."
The "flip the camera" trend involves handing a smartphone to an unsuspecting bystander to film a group's dance, then flipping the camera to capture and publicly mock the bystander. The practice functions as bullying and public humiliation with potential physical, mental, emotional, and social harms. Normalizing social humiliation as entertainment endangers societal moral judgment and social cohesion. Social media use also negatively affects brain functions including attention, memory, executive function, and language development in children and young adults. Those cognitive skills are essential for learning, resilience, and moral and ethical decision‑making, and brain maturation continues until around age 25.
Read at Psychology Today
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