Good God Almighty in Heaven, I wish people would have the good sense to ignore fake drama garbage online. Why would I care about such a thing? Well, I believe myself — and many others — would benefit in the long run because the morons that create this kind of crap would not bother if nobody ever looked at it. It’s abundantly clear that they are doing it for one purpose and one purpose only: Profit.
If there’s one thing I have hated for all of my adult life it’s fake, manufactured drama for the sake of profit. These days it’s virtually everywhere. I do not think it’s possible to find a current television program that doesn’t have at least a smattering of phony drama. It’s particularly nauseating on so-called “reality” shows. My exposure to that kind of programming is limited but my wife watches some of them and particularly the ones about dating, relationships and romance. Just the tiny portions of those programs I am exposed to when I happen to be in the room while she’s watching give me a good idea about how prevalent the fake drama is these days on that medium. As you might expect, I don’t spend my days watching the tube even though, as a retired person, I could easily do so.
I admit that there are television programs I do watch and enjoy that have their share of fabricated drama injected to keep eyes on the screen. Media creators learned long ago that many people love drama and they will sit and watch it. Hell, I am drawn to it as well. As long as it isn’t fake drama. Let me give you an example.
I enjoy the show American Idol. Yes, I admit it. It’s my interest in music that draws me to it and I think it’s fun to see what kind of talent walks in off the street. That program is not without its fake drama but I manage to get through it without turning off the TV. The brand of fake drama that comes to mind when I think about American Idol is the fake medical emergency drama.
Let me set the stage for you: The auditions have moved to Hollywood where a large group of prospects will compete to retain their place among the contestants. They usually whittle the number down to the “final 24” or “final 25” or whatever it happens to be and tensions are running high among the hopefuls. It is not uncommon for the stress to get the best of one of them and cause them to faint or at least come close. Well, that’s the kind of fake drama TV writers live for and they never squander the opportunity to exploit it.
In those cases, viewers will get their first hint of the upcoming fake drama with one of those little “coming up” snippets they roll just prior to a commercial break and that snippet will invariably feature dramatic footage of an ambulance parked outside the venue with its lights flashing or paramedics rushing into the building carrying their medical gear. “Oh my, what could have happened? Do you suppose on of the contestants died?” Those are the kinds of questions the writers hope the television audience is asking themselves, and they are probably right. At least where a certain number of gullible viewers are concerned. Some of us, however, are thinking more along the lines of, “give me a break.”
As always, the program returns from the commercial break only to reveal that one of the contestants was feeling a little woozy and may have fainted. After a sip of water and a short rest they are back on track to be the next American Idol and to live happily ever after as a wealthy and much-loved music superstar.
That’s a good example of the kind of fake, manufactured drama I can live with. I don’t like it but I can tolerate it in small doses. American Idol will usually only pull that routine once a season so it is not all that hard to endure.
What I find almost impossible to endure are those whose efforts yield nothing but drama. The internet is absolutely a phony drama cesspool since just about anyone can get on and throw their digital swill at the wall and see if it sticks. One of the worst and at the same time, most popular digital cesspools on the internet is Youtube. Anyone with access to the internet can create an account there and start uploading videos. As long as they do not violate the platform’s “terms and conditions.” No worries however! All manner of fake drama-containing digital video swill is welcome and is able to pollute the platform for time immemorial.
Trust me, I don’t spend any time looking for this kind of garbage but if you’re online there’s little hope of avoiding at least a little bit of it. In my case, I find that it creeps in insidiously during my quest for actual news that I want to know about. As I indicated earlier, I have what might be considered more than the usual interest in music and as a result, I am often looking online for the latest news about the artists and genres that I care about. Unfortunately, my search often leads to results that include fake, manufactured drama.
A particularly egregious example came my way today and ended up being the inspiration for this post. The following headline was mixed among other more legitimate news headlines this morning: “Alex Lifeson SHOCKS Fans with Dark Truth Behind Rush’s Comeback.” To my skeptical eye, this headline will almost certainly lead to what I would classify as digital sewage. It will be completely worthless garbage with a “shocking” headline that the creator hopes will pique the interest of people who will go read it and create advertising revenue for the shyster that created it. The headline will always greatly exaggerate factual information comparable to making a hangnail sound as if it were an event that will endure as part of the historical record for as long as humanity exists.
In this case, the digital sewage in question resides on Youtube. No surprise there. And this one isn’t the only work of art we can thank this genius for. The channel is filled with fake drama videos complete with computer-generated narration and images lifted from other platforms online. In other words, utterly worthless content that was made with no other purpose than to generate advertising revenue for the creator.
I was contemplating the idea of embedding one of those worthless videos here but decided against it since I did not want to pollute this site with something that lame. Instead, I will just add a screenshot of the video in question and create a non-hyperlinked pointer to the channel in case someone wants a fine example of what digital sewage looks like. At your own risk you are free to visit: youtube.com/@mojopopstories
There you will notice that nearly every fake drama-infused video has titles using words like shock, emotional, dark, awful, reveals, feud, confession, hidden, secrets and a few other key words that are intended to create curiosity and appeal to our somewhat morbid fascination with the misfortune of others. It’s so obvious it’s rather sickening.
I’m hopeful that that particular Youtube channel and countless others like it will never earn a dime of advertising revenue and that the creator will mercifully remove it from the universe of digital sewage that so odiferously pollutes the internet. Since this channel has only 200 subscribers (unimpressive by Youtube standards) and was created in June, perhaps there is hope that it will never attract a significant following.
I know that is not a certainty but I can hope. I just wish people would not be so gullible and easily drawn in by fake garbage. Just imagine an internet free of Nigerian Princes, free cruises and cheap erectile dysfunction pills for a second. That’s what a true digital utopia might look like, but alas, I suspect we will never see.
Again, I know I am tilting at windmills here but at the very least, venting about it might make me feel a little better and today I felt like writing and this was what came out.
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