New York City, New York– YouTube is a good platform to get your message out there. Thanks to the advanced technology, people can now upload videos or even go live anytime, anywhere there is Internet access. Not only does it work for individual users, but it is also highly utilized by small and big businesses alike.
For a company owner, videos are a great way to advertise a service or a product. Different niche audiences are reached instantly through YouTube. Commercials and video ads that are catchy are a great way of engaging potential customers, so long as these ads are appropriate. As for the case of the owner of Tide, famous cleaning material, their product Tide pods might have created the buzz on the Internet for not so nice of a reason.
Tide pod eating is a challenge recorded on video showing people eating the detergent pods. It quickly became a trend after the Tide pods had been the subject of various memes that suggested how these colorful products look delicious to be eaten. What started as a joke then turned into a serious problem when some people actually started recording videos of them eating the poison-filled detergent pods with the hope of having one shot at the 15-minute Internet fame in the said challenge.
Catching the attention of YouTube, the social media platform said that videos related to or showing the pods being treated as food by people will be taken down. As per their community guidelines that every user agrees to upon signing up, contents that promote or encourage dangerous acts that would potentially lead to possible physical harm are strictly prohibited. YouTube are also doing their best to eliminate flagged videos violating these guidelines as they stated in Fast Company.
Aside from the social media platform violations committed by these viral videos, the problem of misuse of the product is also being looked into. Time stated that the American Association of Poison Control Centers already reported 39 cases of teenaged people using the Tide pods improperly just this 2018. This is already at par with the number of total occurrences over the span of one whole year, with 39 cases from two years ago and 53 cases from the past year.
Procter and Gamble, the company owning Tide, said that they have been working hand in hand with the top social media platforms in taking down any content that poses to be harmful and does not follow their regulations. Additionally, they reminded the people that laundry products are meant for cleaning clothes. Therefore, they are not to be toyed with under any circumstance, no matter how entertaining such idea might be, as they said in the statement they made earlier to Time.
A person planning to engage in this challenge should think twice about pushing through with that decision. YouTube recognizes doing the challenge as an offense and might result in having your video taken down, given warnings, or your account dismissed. But this is not the only reason why you should not do it. These are detergent pods.
