History Main / SocialMediaBeforeReason

* ''Film/PearlHarbor'', which is set in 1941, features an OlderThanCableTV predecessor of this trope. One of Rafe's friends keeps on recording the attack with a camera even when all hell is breaking loose just inches away from him. He gets hit by gunfire from a passing Zero and dies.

* ''Film/PearlHarbor'', which is set in 1941, has a proto-example which shows that this trope is OlderThanCableTV. One of Rafe's friends keeps on recording the attack with a camera even when all hell is breaking loose just inches away from him. He gets hit by gunfire from a passing Zero and dies.

* ''Film/PearlHarbor'' has an OlderThanCableTV example as it's set in 1941. One of Rafe's friends keeps on recording the attack with a camera even when all hell is breaking loose just inches away from him. He gets hit by gunfire from a passing Zero and dies.

* In ''Film/PearlHarbor'', one of Rafe's friends keeps on recording the attack with a camera even when all hell is breaking loose just inches away from him. He gets hit by gunfire from a passing Zero and dies.

** A 2022 meme circulated on the app (incorrectly advertised as a trend, with most of the videos being duets or stitches of other users reacting in utter disbelief) involved a recipe for "Sleepy Chicken," in which a user marinated chicken in [=NyQuil=] while cooking it. This prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to [[https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/recipe-danger-social-media-challenges-involving-medicines warn against cooking/boiling]] the cold medicine due to potentially toxic effects (including potentially dangerous respiratory effects from inhaling the medication's vapors during the cooking process and the risk of overdosing on dangerously high amounts of [=NyQuil=] while eating).[[note]]The "trend" [[https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/21/nyquil-chicken-fda-warning-tiktok-trend/ originated as a meme]] fron Website/{{FourChan}} in 2017.[[/note]]

* ''Fanfic/TwoLetters'': {{Invoked}} by the new Ladybug against Alya. After Alya's [[GoingForTheBigScoop investigation]] spurs her to show up to an akuma battle [[ItMakesSenseInContext disguised as Chat Noir]], the new Ladybug [[TakingTheBullet shields her from an attack]]. Afterwards, the [[WoundedGazelleGambit seemingly heavily wounded heroine]] pleads with the public to be more careful around her fights, and not get involved 'just to get clips for social media'. This, coupled with a reminder about how her SecretIdentity is a matter of national security, [[ConvictedByPublicOpinion convinces Paris]] that Alya was trying to unmask their heroine just for the sake of 'landing a big scoop'.

-->"Well, we all deserve to go extinct."

Social media are regularly used for circulating news and sharing whatever you're doing with your friends in the form of status updates, pictures, or videos. This can be really fun and addictive, and although spending a lot of time on Website/{{Facebook}}, Twitter, or Instagram might distract you from living in the moment, it usually won't actually hurt anybody. It also goes along with an InternetSafetyAesop since you should think twice before you post something on the internet.

** A young man decides to run around in Shibuya traffic and disturb the locals so he can get views on Website/YouTube for it. He [[{{Transflormation}} turns into a red-leaved tree]] not long after. Why was he transformed? His previous video showed him tearing off a talisman and breaking the rock it was attached to in the same careless style, unwittingly releasing the youkai inside. And then bystanders take pictures of the aforementioned tree, in which some of those who took pictures of the tree turn into the tree, causing Shibuya to turn into a red forest.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': In one episode where the main four get stranded on an island full of cannibals, Pretty decides to take pictures of herself crying over them getting stuck and post them on social media site Website/{{Fa|cebook}}kebook. Her sister then points out that she ''could'' go rescue them instead.

* A downplayed version occurs in a commercial for Eggo waffles. A family is eagerly awaiting for an Eggo to pop up out of the toaster and when it does, they immediately whip out their phones and begin tweeting "Leggo my Eggo". As they're doing so, the youngest daughter just walks up and grabs the Eggo.

* In the 2018 version of ''Manga/GeGeGeNoKitaro'', a young man decides to run around in Shibuya traffic and disturb the locals so he can get views on Website/YouTube for it. He [[{{Transflormation}} turns into a red-leaved tree]] not long after. Why was he transformed? His previous video showed him tearing off a talisman and breaking the rock it was attached to in the same careless style, unwittingly releasing the youkai inside. And then bystanders take pictures of the aforementioned tree, in which some of those who took pictures of the tree turn into the tree, causing Shibuya to turn into a red forest.
** It happens once again in episode 22 when the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Gyuki]] comes to the island town during a festival, [[AllPartOfTheShow the people think it's an entertainment]] and begin taking pictures of it. It is only after it eats the selfie-takers that the people realize it's a monster and start panicking.
* ''Anime/YuriOnIce'' tends to [[PlayedForLaughs play this for laughs]]:
** A case of this happens in Episode 2. When Yurio arrives in Japan, he mentions knowing he can't post pictures or else his coach will find out where he is, but as soon as he finds a shirt he really likes (with a tiger on it), he takes a selfie with it and posts it anyway. His coach is not amused in the slightest.

* ''ComicBook/DarkReign'': The Corruptor took over Captain America's mind, ordered him to kill Steve Rogers, and attempted to film it with his cell phone. Rogers manages to deflect the bullet, which [[PinballProjectile ricochets]] and gets to the Corruptor's cell phone. He gets electrocuted as a result.
* In the ''ComicBook/GIJoeIDW'' series, the Joes were assigned an online journalist codenamed Hashtag whose job was to improve the Joes' public image by posting social media updates. [[EndangeringNewsBroadcast By following her updates, COBRA was able to track the Joe team and ambush them]].

* Kid Loki from ''ComicBook/JourneyIntoMysteryGillen'' knows he needs to escape through a portal fast after he's summoned [[spoiler: Surtur]]—but he can't resist snapping a picture of the rampaging, now freed [[spoiler: fire giant]] first. (Probably for the skeptical followers of his Instagram, which we've seen earlier in the series.)

** ''Film/CannibalHolocaust'', a candidate for [[UnbuiltTrope the first found-footage film ever made]], deconstructed this in a different manner. Here, the protagonists are a bunch of murderous scumbags who film their atrocities out of a sick sense of sadism, the fact that they have cameras at all implied to be a major driving force behind their crossing the MoralEventHorizon.
** In the 2013 version of ''Film/{{Carrie|2013}}'', during the title character's telekinetic rampage at the prom, the school photographer tries to film what's happening, and we briefly see the action through the lens of his camera, found footage-style. He gets [[TooDumbToLive a table to the face]] the moment that Carrie makes eye contact with the camcorder. The original version of the script was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen supposed to have a greater found-footage component]]; this scene was likely an artifact of that. A non-fatal example comes earlier in the film when [[AlphaBitch Chris]] films Carrie's humiliation in the school showers, which turns out to be incriminating evidence that she was responsible for the prank, meaning that she's not getting unbanned from the prom no matter how much her rich father tries to argue her case.
** In ''[[Film/{{REC}} [REC] 3: Génesis]]'', when Atun tries to keep filming even after a ZombieApocalypse has broken out, Koldo simply grabs his camera and smashes it. The rest of the film is shot as a conventional horror movie, unlike the opening (and the first two films).

--> "Well, we all deserve to go extinct."

* ''Film/TheSocialDilemma'': In the story, the family's youngest daughter Isla is so addicted to her phone that when her mother locks it away for a dinner, she instead smashes the container and runs upstairs rather than eat without it.

* ''Series/TheAmazingRace'': This fate befell CJ & Libby in the 26th season. Already starting the leg in last place, they lost their only chance to catch up by taking a selfie in front of the bullet train without checking the time. By the time they finished, the doors of the train closed making their deficit impossible to overcome.
* ''Series/AustinAndAlly'': Austin tweets about "Suzy's Soups" going out of business while they're trying to save the restaurant.

** Naturally comes up a lot, given the themes and premise of the show. Highlighted in the trailer for series 2, which showed (among similar images) a crowd filming on their phones whilst a homeless man is murdered in front of them; and dozens of people holding up their phones as a huge, ominous dark cloud comes along to swallow them up.
** Perhaps best on display in ''Recap/BlackMirrorTheWaldoMoment''. A cartoon bear named Waldo runs in a by-election in England as a joke candidate, receiving criticism from competing traditional political candidates (who believe he makes a mockery of the democratic process) but also massive appeal from the voting public. [[spoiler:Waldo ends up coming second behind the stuffy, humourless {{Jerkass}} Conservative candidate, but ultimately he turns out to be the last politician to win a British by-election: the Waldo movement not long after takes over Britain and turns it into a barking mad, populist PoliceState and worse, seems to be spreading across the world too.]]

* One episode of ''Series/KanpaiSenshiAfterV'' was based around Treasure V facing huge public backlash after Blue Tweeted a picture of an enemy mook attacking a child, rather than actually stepping in to help the victim.

* One of D.Va's highlight intros in ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' is her ejecting from her mech after hitting the self-destruct, only to stop and take a selfie of herself flashing a VSign with her Meka exploding in the background. Somewhat [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] since, in-game, she's immune to the self-destruct itself.
* The fickleness of social media in general plays a huge role in ''Videogame/Persona5'', particularly regarding the forum that the Phantom Thieves use to collect intel on their targets. The media flip-flops between laying it on thick/abusing the thieves' services, and turning on them and labeling them pariahs. This gets especially troubling for the thieves when [[spoiler:the head of TheConspiracy they've been fighting against confesses to his crimes; his lackeys slander the thieves on social media sites and the people of Tokyo eat it up, no questions asked, despite the fact that Shido and his party had absolutely no interest in Japan's welfare. It comes to a head during the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, where you learn that ''all of Tokyo'' embodies the [[SevenDeadlySins sin of Sloth]] and serve as the masters of the aforementioned dungeon along with the FinalBoss. It also doubles as commentary: the people of Tokyo would rather be told what to do than divert from the expectations laid out before them, and one symptom includes taking things at face value.]]

* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' comic [[http://www.xkcd.com/723/ Seismic Waves]] satirizes people who tweet obsessively by depicting them retweeting warnings about earthquakes rather than taking precautions. Became truth with the 2011 Virginia Earthquake, where people in Boston and New York City reported reading Twitter messages from people in Baltimore, DC, and Richmond reacting to the earthquake 15-30 seconds before feeling the tremors themselves. This was largely due to the geology of the east coast, which is not prone to big earthquakes, resulting in older rock that transfers the energy further, but slower, than areas that are much more prone to earthquakes.

* PlayedForLaughs in the ''WebVideo/GameGrumps's'' playthrough of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', where Arin decides to take a selfie with Ganondorf in the middle of the FinalBattle. Danny chews him out for his foolishness while he tries to justify it by saying "When am I ever gonna be here again?!". Danny made a CallBack to this a few years later with ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', snarkily asking Arin if he was going to repeat the stunt in this game (he didn't).
* In ''Website/TalesFromDevNull'''s story [[https://www.4eye-labs.net/devnulltales/content/crywolf/ The Boy Who Cried Wolf 2.0]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'', this is what kills [[spoiler:Herb Kazzaz, after his cancer goes into remission]]. He spends the drive home tweeting [[TemptingFate how he'll live forever]], only to collide with a peanut truck, which causes his death by allergic reaction.

** Zigzagged with Dewey (and to a lesser extent, Louie) in "The Town Where Everyone Was Nice!" Dewey and Louie spend most of the episode on their phones instead of experiencing the local culture for real, which Webby calls them out on. This escalates to Dewey taking pics on his phone even as [[spoiler: a carnivorous plant is about to devour him]]. However, [[spoiler: Dewey's pictures also help Webby identify the threat in the first place, downplaying the trope.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': We don't see it happen, but Wendy says this was the fate of Robbie during "Weirdmageddon". He would have gotten away from Bill Cipher's initial wave of weird, but he stopped to take a selfie.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': In one episode where the main four get stranded on an island full of cannibals, Pretty decides to take pictures of herself crying over them getting stuck and post them on social media site [[Website/{{Facebook}} Fakebook]]. Her sister then points out that she ''could'' go rescue them instead.

* This problem crops up pretty regularly at national parks and other sites of natural beauty. Folks, [[SincerityMode no matter how much you think you need to, or how cool the resulting picture would be:]]

* Geraldo Rivera did this during the second Iraq war. He specifically filmed himself highlighting detailed troop locations, numbers, and movement ''prior'' to combat operations, [[http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/31/sprj.irq.geraldo/ and broadcast it well in advance of the actual events]], and was swiftly kicked out by the Army afterward. He did this knowing full well [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Pearl the fate of Daniel Pearl]], and numerous civilian contractors who were set on fire, alive, and hung from bridges by the enemy Iraqi soldiers and their Al Qaeda sympathizers. He was, and still is, [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint shocked that the allied army and the viewing public in general hate him, and to a lesser extent, his network, for doing this]].
* [=YouTuber=] Creator/LoganPaul filmed himself visiting Aokigahara (Also known as ''Jukai'' (the 'Sea of Trees') and the ''Suicide Forest'' as a result of its reputation as a suicide hotspot), a forest at the foot of Mount Fuji with his friends in Japan. Then he began to film and upload a video of a dead body he stumbled upon for many viewers, who are mostly juveniles, to see, then began making insensitive jokes at the deceased's expense. As a result, it garnered a lot of controversy alongside the general misbehaviour Logan and his party engaged in during the trip as a whole, including throwing objects at citizens in Tokyo, stripping and fighting in the street, and clambering around on moving forklifts and generally being a nuisance at the Tsukiji Market.

* [[https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/09/27/tiktok-gen-z-tattoo-trend-looks-like-nazi-symbol/3529629001/ In 2020]], a [=TikTok=] trend involved getting a tattoo of the letter Z with a horizontal line through the middle (Ƶ). At the time, it was supposed to represent the pride of being Generation Z, as well as symbolize rebellion and unity. However, the tattoo strongly resembled a ''wolfsangel rune'', something that was used by the 2nd SS Panzer Division of Nazi Germany. The girl who started the trend apologised profusely and broke down crying as [[HanlonsRazor she genuinely did not know the history of the symbol]] and because she was receiving death threats because of this mistake. The damage was already done because thousands of [=TikTok=] users got the tattoo before they did the research.

* In ''VideoGame/DiceyDungeons'', Lady Luck lampshades that of all the goals of the player characters, the Witch wanting ten million social media followers is probably the least practical -- although since [[FixingTheGame no one ever actually gets the prize at the end of the game]] it's a moot point.

Social media are regularly used for circulating news and sharing whatever you're doing with your friends in the form of status updates, pictures, or videos. This can be really fun and addictive, and although spending a lot of time on Website/{{Facebook}}, Twitter or Instagram might distract you from living in the moment, it usually won't actually hurt anybody. It also goes along with an InternetSafetyAesop since you should think twice before you post something on the internet.

This is TruthInTelevision due to its roots in human psychology—when you see an outright incredible scene, it's so hard to believe it's actually happening that your first reaction will be to actually prove it's real by putting it on the Web. It can also be an aspect of BystanderSyndrome where everybody assumes that someone else is already taking care of it and that there's nothing for them to do but watch. Keep in mind that social media ''can'' also be used legitimately for sharing information during a disaster when other means aren't available, or more specifically submitted to the proper authorities as evidence of a crime being committed; this trope is specifically about using it in a way that's inappropriate for the situation.

Compare with the IntrepidReporter, a professional journalist who ought to know the risks they're taking by being there; the ApocalypticLog, which is left by someone in case they don't survive to tell the tale, instead of by some Twitter addict who just doesn't realize how much danger they're in; and EndangeringNewsBroadcast, which is usually more dangerous to the subject than to the filmer. Related to NewMediaAreEvil and EverythingIsOnline. Sub-trope of SkewedPriorities and SocialMediaIsBad. This is a common trait of a SelfieFiend, and even more prevalent with the BadInfluencer.

* In the 2018 version of ''Manga/GeGeGeNoKitaro'', a young man decides to run around in Shibuya traffic and disturb the locals so he can get views on Website/YouTube for it. He [[{{Transflormation}} turns into a red-leaved tree]] not long after. Why was he transformed? His previous video showed him tearing off a talisman and breaking the rock it was attached to in the same careless style, unwittingly releasing the youkai inside. And then bystanders take pictures of the aforementioned tree, in which some of who took pictures of the tree turn into the tree, causing Shibuya to turn into a red forest.
** It happens once again in episode 22, when the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Gyuki]] comes to the island town during a festival, [[AllPartOfTheShow the people think it's an entertainment]] and begin taking pictures of it. It is only after it eats the selfie-takers that the people realize it's a monster and start panicking.

* ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn2021'': Blur is so much faster than the Silver Witch that he can easily lap her, the only reason she snared his soul was him making a social media video while outrunning her and he didn't see what she was doing.

* ''ComicBook/SupergirlRebirth'' has Catco unveil a new system that lets users of their website act as reporters themselves. When Kara suffers PowerIncontinence that causes her to fall into a crater in a hallway, the people who arrive are too busy trying to a spin a story out of it to help her up.

* Subverted in the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' strip "Liberation of the Daleks". At first it appears that the alien family visiting 1966 Earth are both callously and suicidally unconcerned by the Dalek invasion, as they take lots of selfies to post to a galactic [[FictionalSocialNetwork Instagram-equivalent]]. Then it turns out that the whole thing's just a theme-park simulation, and they know it.

* ''Fanfic/WithConfidence'': Thanks to the teachers at [[SuckySchool Aldera]] doing absolutely nothing about the FantasticRacism running rampant at their school, social media is overflowing with evidence of their crimes, much of which was proudly posted by the perpetrators themselves, showing off their callousness and cruelty [[DidntThinkThisThrough without considering]] how this might come back to haunt them. Izuku uses this to his advantage by gathering up all of this evidence.

** ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject'', [[UnbuiltTrope of all films]], actually {{deconstructed|Trope}} this one. The reason Heather's continuing to film everything, long after it's become clear that she and her friends are lost, is because it's her way of coping with that fact. The screen on the camera makes the predicament she's in feel less real.

* The main characters in ''Film/BodiesBodiesBodies'' are all presented as twentysomething versions of {{Phoneaholic Teenager}}s whose bad behavior on social media leaks out into real life, and nowhere is this clearer than with the ending, where the killer turns out to be [[spoiler:nobody at all. David's death, the inciting incident for the plot, happened because he was trying to film himself opening a champagne bottle with a kukri for a Platform/TikTok video. [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy While drunk.]] No points for guessing what happened to him, though it takes the entire movie, after [[EverybodyDidIt the rest of the cast had killed each other]] out of suspicion that one of them was the killer, for Bee and Sophie to finally discover the evidence on his phone.]]

** A few years later in ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'', Flash keeps livestreaming to his Instagram followers while they're running from the super elemental [[spoiler:illusion]] in London. This is a double-edged sword; on the one hand, [[spoiler:Mysterio's tech crew is able to use it to target the kids, since they're trying to kill Ned, MJ, and Betty]], but on the other hand, [[spoiler:Happy is able to use it to ''rescue'' the kids, since Peter tipped him off that Mysterio was targeting them, and once Happy finds them he gets Flash to turn off the stream]].

* ''Literature/{{Nerds}}'': [=McKenna=], a cheerleader from Book 3, tweets everything she does whenever she can, sharing a lot information that should be kept secret, such as the fact that she and her friends are ''stealing treasure from alternate realities''.

* Rico Recklezz taunts his unamed opponent of this.

** One early-game scene exemplifies this: as Shiho lays in Shujin's courtyard after a bungled suicide, Ryuji and the Protagonist swiftly run down there, only to find a mass of students snapping photos and shooting video footage, with Ann being the only one who even tries to help (via riding along with Shiho in the ambulance). Ryuji says it best--

--->''NOOOOOOO! I FORGOT TO INCLUDE A LINK TO THE LIVESTREAM!!! DID ANYONE SCREEN CAP WHAT HAPPENED?!! THAT WAS SO WEIRD!! [[AsymmetricDilemma AND I MIGHT HAVE A BROKEN RIB]]!!!''

* [[https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/09/27/tiktok-gen-z-tattoo-trend-looks-like-nazi-symbol/3529629001/ In 2020]], a [=TikTok=] trend involved getting a tattoo of the letter Z with a horizontal line through the middle (Ƶ). At the time, it was supposed to represent the pride of being generation z, as well as symbolize rebellion and unity. However, the tattoo strongly resembled a ''wolfsangel rune'', something that was used by the 2nd SS Panzer Division of Nazi Germany. The girl who started the trend apologised profusely and broke down crying as [[HanlonsRazor she genuinely did not know the history of the symbol]] and because she was receiving death threats because of this mistake. The damage was already done because thousands of [=TikTok=] users got the tattoo before they did the research.
* Social media has played a role in several gang related murders worldwide, with people aiming to disrespect their rivals by going live on Instagram at their turf, which sometimes has led to said rivals showing up after becoming aware of the live broadcast.
* During the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a Russian soldier started an Instagram stream by phone, bragging about his kills in that day's mission. Apparently unaware that his unsecured public stream left him open to basic triangulation (which is to say, ''basic artillery plotting''), he was KilledMidSentence when an explosive shell landed on his position, serving as a brief but vivid object lesson on what constitutes an appropriate times to stream.

* The main characters in ''Film/BodiesBodiesBodies'' are all presented as twentysomething versions of {{Phoneaholic Teenager}}s whose bad behavior on social media leaks out into real life, and nowhere is this clearer than with the ending, where the killer turns out to be [[spoiler:nobody at all. David's death, the inciting incident for the plot, happened because he was trying to film himself opening a champagne bottle with a kukri for a Website/TikTok video. [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy While drunk.]] No points for guessing what happened to him, though it takes the entire movie, after [[EverybodyDidIt the rest of the cast had killed each other]] out of suspicion that one of them was the killer, for Bee and Sophie to finally discover the evidence on his phone.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} Tag Tournament 2'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' both involve fighters who think that the middle of a martial arts match is the perfect time to take a selfie with the opponent. In the latter case, it's part of a '''Fatality'''.

* ''VideoGame/BrawlStars'': In the animated short "Barley's Last Call", there's a funny background event of Emz taking a selfie in front of Poco trying to put out a fire, [[BystanderSyndrome rather than helping him]].

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* In the 2018 version of ''Manga/GeGeGeNoKitaro'', a young man decides to run around in Shibuya traffic and disturb the locals so he can get views on Youtube for it. He [[{{Transflormation}} turns into a red-leaved tree]] not long after. Why was he transformed? His previous video showed him tearing off a talisman and breaking the rock it was attached to in the same careless style, unwittingly releasing the youkai inside. And then bystanders take pictures of the aforementioned tree, in which some of who took pictures of the tree turn into the tree, causing Shibuya to turn into a red forest.

-->You had a pistol on YouTube but in real life you weren't toting\\

%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!

-->-- '''The Doctor,''' ''Series/DoctorWho'', [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E1TheEleventhHour "The Eleventh Hour"]]

-->You had a pistol on YouTube but in real life you weren't toting
-->Ha! Who the sucka, dead dumb stupid motherfucka
-->I wish I know who slumped ya, so I could give they ass a thumbs up bruh

* ''Videogame/WeBecomeWhatWeBehold'' has you accepting orders from an unknown source where you have to photograph "something interesting". [[spoiler:It later escalates to prejudice, violence, and full-blown massacre.]]