THE rumblings beneath the dodgy surface holding social media platforms were primed for an explosion. It was just a matter of time when the dark thinking ruling overambitious minds faced a reality check. The outrage over a YouTuber’s downright pervert remarks on a so-called comedy show (or whatever it is called) has proved that the tipping point is here. The country must wake up now and uproot these termites menacingly gnawing at the moral fabric of the society. It is not a question of any one social media influencer crossing the line, yet again, in the name of freedom of speech. The crass comment made by podcaster Ranveer Allahabadia about his parents on his nonsensical show is not an isolated incident. The medium is full of such stuff, used by young influencers for the sake of more followers and quick money.

 

Allahabadia has since then apologised for his crude comments and will face a bigger action soon as the episode has caused severe anger in the country. But many others are still unaware of the perversion they are parading in the name of artistic liberty on platforms having no control of any agency. This is the bigger problem for the government and the society to deal with. The Allahabadia case serves as an exemplary example of the perils of too much liberty the society has granted to the cyber space users. Not all the podcasters and YouTubers are afflicted by the publicity-at-any-cost syndrome. There are some excellent shows bringing out supreme content in every domain. But there is also a growing breach of the line of decency that is expected to be adhered to by mass media platforms. Rampant use of cuss words, constant sneering, mockery of religious practices have become a part of on-line shows with no check on its spread. These are signs of a social decay where derision becomes an easy and instant tool in the hands of people having unbridled access to unchecked mediums.

 

It is a red flag already raised by saner elements in the society but has consistently escaped the attention of the powers-that-be. Lack of clear guidelines, absence of a rule-book and government’s reluctance to bring censorship for on-line content have combined into a space which runs on its own rules. The rules are interpreted by the content-makers as per their understanding of the social, political and spiritual situations prevailing in the country. The rat-race for publicity among influencers has further led to creation of a content with quick attraction value. It has polluted the well-settled norms of broadcasting, thus disturbing the set genre of stand-up comedy. At a menacing speed, comedians have mushroomed on the stage, lapped up by an audience immune to the below-the-belt attacks through comedy. What the latest culprit did was the sum of all these equations. In fact, Allahabadia took it down to the dirtiest possible level, that too on a joke borrowed from a Western show.

 

The end result has left his family embarrassed and the country enraged. Such episodes need to be taken as a wake-up call. The political class has taken note of the cheap stunt by picking it for a bigger debate. It has to be backed by an action without any biases. The influencers, or so they feel by the number of followers, must also realise the ramifications of their wrong judgements. That they are followed by countless youngsters with totally impressionable minds should have been a reason enough for the likes of Allahabadia or Samay Raina or Apoorva Makhija to refrain from vulgarity and misogyny. They carry a big responsibility towards the people and it cannot be sacrificed at the altar of cheap excitement. What is more disturbing is the double standards adopted by the white-collar audience who shell out big money to attend the stand-up shows.

 

Their glee at the abusive language used freely by the presenters belies the high moral standards they talk of in public life. None has shown the guts to stop a performer from crossing the line of decency. It has ultimately resulted in a notion that these are the acceptable practices for a comedian. Along with the presenters, these people, too, must be called out publicly to bring about a change in the mind set of the mushrooming influencers using social media for a quick buck. This degradation is not limited only to comedy shows. The fad of reality shows is also equally responsible for stretching the limits of decent public viewing. Allowing access to the camera into the private places of contestants is being used as an USP by the makers to attract more eyeballs. These shows have now found the ready vehicle of OTTs to stream across the globe.

 

The world of OTTs is producing a huge magnitude of shows bordering on creepiness with maddening use of crass language. In the garb of showing reality in its actual sense, even good creators are falling to the bait of adult content. Family shows are becoming a rarity in this world. What this content has led to is normalising crudeness and crime. It is not a sweeping judgement on films and TV shows but the growing number of criminal confessions of taking inspiration from some web series is a case in point. Creativity comes with its own challenges as it craves the touch of reality in the final product. But the same creativity assumes a menacing form when it blurs the difference between decent and indecent. This line is being compromised pretty easily in the on-line world, heavily influenced by the equation of consumerism. The on-line platforms must not be allowed to become an economy of crassness where vulgarity rules as the biggest currency.