So, smacking people in the face and recording it on Vine is a thing now. What began as good-humored fun between Max Jr., Jerry Purpdrank, and their friends has ballooned into Vine's newest trend. Known as #SmackCam (it is in no way related with the Smack DVD series; sorry rap-battle diehards), the social movement seems to have hit a tipping point.
The idea behind #SmackCam is simple: Catch a friend or family member with their guard down and record yourself smacking them in the face. The element of surprise is key.
"My cousin gave me the idea about smacking people for Vine, but I wasn't too sure if I wanted to do it," Max Jr. told me. "Evidently I ended up smacking people and it became a huge hit. I held a Smack Cam competition about two weeks ago and I got over hundreds of posts. That's when I really realized how big Smack Cam became."
A quick search on Twitter yields nearly a thousand results—a mix of personal #SmackCam videos and commentary about the swelling trend. And as the social movement has grown over the course of the last three weeks, each subsequent video has taken on an extreme nature (some border on assault). SmackCam-ers now use lotion, powder, food, and whipped cream to smash in the face of their unsuspecting victims.
"Someone is going to get killed over that #SmackCam trend," says Nigel D, the creator of RealTalkNY.net. It's not hyperbole either. One look at the Vines below and you can't help but wonder: Has this shit gotten out of control? To paraphrase Tumblr founder David Karp: Fuck yeah it has. Think we're exaggerating? Check them out for yourself:
We get it: You want to be a part of the newest trend on social media, and it's all in good fun, but at what cost? Sooner or later someone is going to get really hurt—and no one will be laughing then.
