The Toxic Trap and How Social Media is Corrupting Gen Z

The Dark Side of Social Media Influence: How Gen Z is Being Misled in the Name of Humor

The rise of social media has given birth to a new generation of influencers, but are they truly influencing for the better? Profanity-laced humor, sexualized content, and vulgar jokes have become the new norm—normalized under the guise of being ‘relatable’ or ‘bold.’ But at what cost? This unchecked wave of toxic content is shaping young minds, and it’s time we address the elephant in the room.

When Influence Turns Into Misguidance

Social media platforms were once seen as a space for innovation, knowledge sharing, and creativity. However, today, they are filled with content that thrives on cheap humor, obscenities, and controversy. The shocking part? It’s not just tolerated—it’s celebrated.

Take a closer look at the current landscape: influencers with millions of followers casually throw profanities into their content, sexualize relationships, and openly promote perverse behavior. It’s not about being ‘offensive’ in a humorous way; it’s about how this constant exposure affects impressionable young audiences.

It is deeply concerning when brands, universities, and educational institutions start endorsing such influencers, giving them a platform that further legitimizes their irresponsible content. The recent panel featuring Ashish Chanchlani and Apoorva is a prime example. Their audience includes young children, teenagers, and young adults—many of whom view these figures as role models. When their ‘role models’ normalize abusive and degrading language in the name of comedy, what message does that send?

The Vanishing Line Between Humor and Vulgarity

Comedy is meant to entertain, but when it comes at the cost of degrading language and obscene jokes, it stops being comedy and starts becoming a societal problem. Take influencers like Ranveer Allahbadia and Samay Raina, who seem to believe that pushing boundaries means lowering the standard of discourse. There is a vast difference between being funny and being outright inappropriate.

We must ask ourselves: Have we exhausted all the role models in our society that we now turn to social media personalities with no regard for their audience’s mental and moral development? What happened to celebrating scientists, researchers, activists, educators, and real change-makers?

A Nation at Crossroads: What Can We Do?

The responsibility of changing this toxic trend does not rest solely on social media influencers. It is also on us—the audience, the educators, the parents, and the institutions that endorse them. Here’s what we can do:

Call Out Irresponsible Content: Stop normalizing offensive language and crude jokes. If an influencer is crossing the line, let them know it’s not acceptable.

Educate the Younger Generation: Teach children and teenagers how to differentiate between quality content and harmful influence.

Demand Higher Standards from Institutions: Universities, brands, and companies must rethink who they promote and partner with. Their endorsements shape public perception.

Support Positive Role Models: Follow and uplift people who contribute meaningfully to society—be it through education, science, activism, or business.

Social media has immense power. It can be a tool for learning and positive influence or a breeding ground for toxic trends. The choice is ours. Are we willing to let the next generation be guided by vulgarity disguised as humor, or will we take a stand for better role models? The time to act is now.

Let’s reclaim the narrative before it’s too late.