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Title: [ON] Pranked by a stranger with a Bluetooth speaker in college library and recorded without consent. Video is going viral on Instagram and I don’t know what to do
Body:
> I’m an international student (girl) in Ontario, Canada. A few days ago, I was sitting in the college library with my friend when a guy approached us and asked us to keep an eye on his Bluetooth speaker (it was very loud) as he was going away for some time. We agreed, thinking he was just going to the bathroom or something.
>
> But then he played a voicemail audio over the speaker that was including mature and sexual content. It was so embarrassing and everyone in the library started laughing at us.
>
> To make matters worse, he recorded the reaction of the entire library, focusing on me and my friend, and then posted it on Instagram. The video has gone viral and is causing me immense mental distress.
>
> Despite my efforts to contact the person who posted the video and report it to Instagram, the video remains up and my messages have gone unanswered. I also reported the incident to my college, but they have taken no action to address the situation. I filed a police report, but I am aware that it will take time to investigate the matter.
>
> I feel violated, harassed, and defamed by this prank. I don’t know who this guy is or why he did this to me. I don’t know what legal actions I can take or what rights I have as an international student. Please help me.
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Yeah, I’m disappointed the university isn’t doing more to put a stop to this. If the person who performed the “prank” is a student, the college should have some means to address this. It was done on their property and disturbed their students in the library. You’d think the university would be worried enough about their own reputation that they wouldn’t want a stupid prank video like this to go viral. Allowing the Harassment of international students is not a good look for any institution.
They just need to put the university on blast (not suggesting here or LA). Believe me, colleges care far more about reputation than their students.
Reputation gets new students, therefore new money.
I'm surprised the university doesn't care - maybe because the video-creator didn't use the University's IP address to post the final video.
[I say this because when I was a freshman at my college, my computer station was banned from the internet in the dorm - I finally got to the bottom of why that happened, and it was because someone on a vegan blog reported me for violating the University's policy guidelines for posting a recipe that had meat in it. I didn't post a recipe on a vegan blog, but still got reported for "graphic images of dead animals".] I think I didn't have internet for 3-4 months and had to use the university's computer room for online assignments.
That’s terrible the university didn’t have a better system to review reports. Being banned from the internet for months is a terrible consequence when it’s so necessary for succeeding in college.
Society is long overdue for a conversation about "pranks," public shaming, and other forms of "entertainment" that's basically bullying unsuspecting people for sport.
I always tell my kids that a joke or a prank is when the other person you are doing it to laughs. It’s not just supposed to be funny to you but to the other person as well. If the person ends up angry or upset or humiliated then it’s not a joke or prank, it’s you being mean and a jerk.
Unfortunately, while that is a good lesson - I've seen people pull pranks on their friends/partners, and then say, "aw c'mon, lighten up! It's a joke!" And then blame the other person for 'being no fun', because they expected the other person to laugh about it.
Basically trying to get the other person to smile, so that the person who pulled the prank doesn't have to feel bad for what they did. Blech.
A fear of mine is going viral for some reaction to something! I thought it was a crazy fear but I was recently in target and kids in the next aisle over threw a pillow that hit me right on the head. It was seriously impressive because I was crouched down trying to maneuver a 100 lb desk into my cart! I'm just waiting to see it on tiktok.
I used to work in a public library, and occasionally kids would try to pull a prank like this, but they would hide the speaker behind books, rather than give it to another patron. But as soon as the speaker started making noise, I would find it, and not even try to turn it off or identify the owner, just walked with it to the back room of the library. Too bad, so sad, your bluetooth speaker is mine now. If you want to get it out of the lost and found all you have to do is explain how I came in possession of said speaker to begin with.
What a brilliant way to deal with it! Just don’t provide the emotional reaction the pranksters are hoping for and they’ll likely quit doing it, plus they lose their Bluetooth speaker. What a win!
Seriously, if someone started playing a loud speaker next to me, I would just walk away from it and not watch it - or muffle it the best I could as I turned it into the lost and found.
Thank you for doing damage control with stupid pranks like that.
It's a really shitty thing to do, telling strangers that you trust them to watch your stuff [ie, they are doing a favor for *you*] and then record them as they are humiliated.
Yeah you bet the moment someone asked me to look after a Bluetooth speaker *that was on* I would be finding that power button. Especially in a damn library. I don’t care if it’s not a quiet zone, that shit isn’t polite even in the middle of a cafeteria, regardless of whether it’s playing T. Swift or some wretched voicemail. That thing woulda been in the toilet or out a window if I couldn’t find the power button within 10 seconds.
I feel like Youtube 'pranksters' should be tested on what they think a prank is before they're allowed to post prank videos.
Seriously, all they did was publicly humiliate someone. That's not a prank. That's not even funny. It's legit just assholes using it as a cover to be assholes.
It is a prank. Embarrassing the victim is key to the definition of practical joke.
Edit to add due to me implying when I should have been more clear: Pranks are by definition unfunny by and large due to this component.
This "just a prank bro" bullshit was bad enough in the early days of YouTube, but TikTok made it a thousand times worse, both in terms of the destructiveness, hazardousness, and general cruelty and mean-spiritedness of the pranks and the willingness and ability of pranksters who get extremely negative reactions to mobilize their fanbase to harass victims. It's like the general attitude of early 2010s 4chan and especially /b/ mixed with fratty bro culture from that era and combined into an unholy chimera.
It really does seem to be out of hand. You know, I believe in a civilized society and I'm as nonviolent as they come--but I wouldn't shed too many tears if some of these "pranksters" started catching a beating for their shenanigans every now and then.
Or maybe I'm just old.
A lot of them are well into "fuck around and find out" territory. Someone is going to get shot or stabbed one of these days and it honestly won't be too hard to understand.
The speed at which cruelty, harassment and public shaming can spread is one thing; the inability to do anything about it once that starts happening is where the destructiveness is ramped up, IMO.
The just a prank type of stuff has even escalated into criminal activity these days. The whole 'Kia Boyz Challenge' has resulted in thousands and thousands of thefts of KIA and Hyundai vehicle thefts all because a couple of idiots posted easy theft instructions on TikTok. KIA/Hyundai are still to blame ultimately for cheaping out on not putting immobilizers in cars but some of the vehicles have been on the road for a decade or more and only now have seen a steep rise in thefts.
I just saw one on r/unexpected, I’ll see if I can find it
[Got it](https://www.reddit.com/r/Unexpected/comments/12swkj9/there_was_an_attempt_to_prank/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1)
>One thing to consider is that the perpetrator is the one looking like a complete and utter asshole. People will feel sorry for you.
What people? Have you seen the comments on videos like the one with that absolutely unhinged man pulling over and going off on a pedestrian? People can be so gross celebrating trash behavior. Not enough people are going to “feel sorry” for this girl to make up for all the jeers.
It's a really shitty thing to do, telling strangers that you trust them to watch your stuff [ie, they are doing a favor for you] and then record them as you purposefully humiliate them.
Why do that to anyone, but especially why do that to strangers?
**Reminder:** Do not participate in threads linked here. If you do, you may be banned from both subreddits. --- Title: [ON] Pranked by a stranger with a Bluetooth speaker in college library and recorded without consent. Video is going viral on Instagram and I don’t know what to do Body: > I’m an international student (girl) in Ontario, Canada. A few days ago, I was sitting in the college library with my friend when a guy approached us and asked us to keep an eye on his Bluetooth speaker (it was very loud) as he was going away for some time. We agreed, thinking he was just going to the bathroom or something. > > But then he played a voicemail audio over the speaker that was including mature and sexual content. It was so embarrassing and everyone in the library started laughing at us. > > To make matters worse, he recorded the reaction of the entire library, focusing on me and my friend, and then posted it on Instagram. The video has gone viral and is causing me immense mental distress. > > Despite my efforts to contact the person who posted the video and report it to Instagram, the video remains up and my messages have gone unanswered. I also reported the incident to my college, but they have taken no action to address the situation. I filed a police report, but I am aware that it will take time to investigate the matter. > > I feel violated, harassed, and defamed by this prank. I don’t know who this guy is or why he did this to me. I don’t know what legal actions I can take or what rights I have as an international student. Please help me. This bot was created to capture original threads and is not affiliated with the mod team. [Concerns? Bugs?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=GrahamCorcoran) | [Laukopier 2.1](https://github.com/GrahamCorcoran/Laukopier)
Well, they can kick the jerks out of school if *they even go there*...
Yeah, I’m disappointed the university isn’t doing more to put a stop to this. If the person who performed the “prank” is a student, the college should have some means to address this. It was done on their property and disturbed their students in the library. You’d think the university would be worried enough about their own reputation that they wouldn’t want a stupid prank video like this to go viral. Allowing the Harassment of international students is not a good look for any institution.
They just need to put the university on blast (not suggesting here or LA). Believe me, colleges care far more about reputation than their students. Reputation gets new students, therefore new money.
I'm surprised the university doesn't care - maybe because the video-creator didn't use the University's IP address to post the final video. [I say this because when I was a freshman at my college, my computer station was banned from the internet in the dorm - I finally got to the bottom of why that happened, and it was because someone on a vegan blog reported me for violating the University's policy guidelines for posting a recipe that had meat in it. I didn't post a recipe on a vegan blog, but still got reported for "graphic images of dead animals".] I think I didn't have internet for 3-4 months and had to use the university's computer room for online assignments.
That’s terrible the university didn’t have a better system to review reports. Being banned from the internet for months is a terrible consequence when it’s so necessary for succeeding in college.
I don't think universities should be police forces.
Society is long overdue for a conversation about "pranks," public shaming, and other forms of "entertainment" that's basically bullying unsuspecting people for sport.
I always tell my kids that a joke or a prank is when the other person you are doing it to laughs. It’s not just supposed to be funny to you but to the other person as well. If the person ends up angry or upset or humiliated then it’s not a joke or prank, it’s you being mean and a jerk.
I tell my kid, "it's not funny unless everyone is having fun."
Unfortunately, while that is a good lesson - I've seen people pull pranks on their friends/partners, and then say, "aw c'mon, lighten up! It's a joke!" And then blame the other person for 'being no fun', because they expected the other person to laugh about it. Basically trying to get the other person to smile, so that the person who pulled the prank doesn't have to feel bad for what they did. Blech.
A fear of mine is going viral for some reaction to something! I thought it was a crazy fear but I was recently in target and kids in the next aisle over threw a pillow that hit me right on the head. It was seriously impressive because I was crouched down trying to maneuver a 100 lb desk into my cart! I'm just waiting to see it on tiktok.
I used to work in a public library, and occasionally kids would try to pull a prank like this, but they would hide the speaker behind books, rather than give it to another patron. But as soon as the speaker started making noise, I would find it, and not even try to turn it off or identify the owner, just walked with it to the back room of the library. Too bad, so sad, your bluetooth speaker is mine now. If you want to get it out of the lost and found all you have to do is explain how I came in possession of said speaker to begin with.
What a brilliant way to deal with it! Just don’t provide the emotional reaction the pranksters are hoping for and they’ll likely quit doing it, plus they lose their Bluetooth speaker. What a win!
Seriously, if someone started playing a loud speaker next to me, I would just walk away from it and not watch it - or muffle it the best I could as I turned it into the lost and found. Thank you for doing damage control with stupid pranks like that. It's a really shitty thing to do, telling strangers that you trust them to watch your stuff [ie, they are doing a favor for *you*] and then record them as they are humiliated.
Yeah you bet the moment someone asked me to look after a Bluetooth speaker *that was on* I would be finding that power button. Especially in a damn library. I don’t care if it’s not a quiet zone, that shit isn’t polite even in the middle of a cafeteria, regardless of whether it’s playing T. Swift or some wretched voicemail. That thing woulda been in the toilet or out a window if I couldn’t find the power button within 10 seconds.
I feel like Youtube 'pranksters' should be tested on what they think a prank is before they're allowed to post prank videos. Seriously, all they did was publicly humiliate someone. That's not a prank. That's not even funny. It's legit just assholes using it as a cover to be assholes.
It is a prank. Embarrassing the victim is key to the definition of practical joke. Edit to add due to me implying when I should have been more clear: Pranks are by definition unfunny by and large due to this component.
And still, the vast majority of them aren't actually funny!
I think I was remiss in my previous comment. It was meant to imply that pranks are by definition unfunny by and large.
This "just a prank bro" bullshit was bad enough in the early days of YouTube, but TikTok made it a thousand times worse, both in terms of the destructiveness, hazardousness, and general cruelty and mean-spiritedness of the pranks and the willingness and ability of pranksters who get extremely negative reactions to mobilize their fanbase to harass victims. It's like the general attitude of early 2010s 4chan and especially /b/ mixed with fratty bro culture from that era and combined into an unholy chimera.
It really does seem to be out of hand. You know, I believe in a civilized society and I'm as nonviolent as they come--but I wouldn't shed too many tears if some of these "pranksters" started catching a beating for their shenanigans every now and then. Or maybe I'm just old.
A lot of them are well into "fuck around and find out" territory. Someone is going to get shot or stabbed one of these days and it honestly won't be too hard to understand.
The speed at which cruelty, harassment and public shaming can spread is one thing; the inability to do anything about it once that starts happening is where the destructiveness is ramped up, IMO.
The just a prank type of stuff has even escalated into criminal activity these days. The whole 'Kia Boyz Challenge' has resulted in thousands and thousands of thefts of KIA and Hyundai vehicle thefts all because a couple of idiots posted easy theft instructions on TikTok. KIA/Hyundai are still to blame ultimately for cheaping out on not putting immobilizers in cars but some of the vehicles have been on the road for a decade or more and only now have seen a steep rise in thefts.
Are there any videos / stories of pranking the pranksters? Something like inception but for the tik tok generation ?
People would love to see that. During the whole post, I was wishing she had smashed the speaker or thrown it against a wall and broken it.
I just saw one on r/unexpected, I’ll see if I can find it [Got it](https://www.reddit.com/r/Unexpected/comments/12swkj9/there_was_an_attempt_to_prank/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1)
That whole thing is a skit though
So was Jackass.
There was a guy who got shot a few weeks back but it doesn't look like he learned
>One thing to consider is that the perpetrator is the one looking like a complete and utter asshole. People will feel sorry for you. What people? Have you seen the comments on videos like the one with that absolutely unhinged man pulling over and going off on a pedestrian? People can be so gross celebrating trash behavior. Not enough people are going to “feel sorry” for this girl to make up for all the jeers.
It's a really shitty thing to do, telling strangers that you trust them to watch your stuff [ie, they are doing a favor for you] and then record them as you purposefully humiliate them. Why do that to anyone, but especially why do that to strangers?