Experiencing freedom in society is such a wonderful thing, but it gets to a point where it becomes too intoxicating, and we need to ask ourselves: how much is too much?
For me, I think freedom in anything is best practiced with wisdom, especially when it involves other people and shared spaces. While it is not mandatory, the comfort of other people should also matter to us in all our dealings. Unfortunately, people do not always care, and it’s the reason I believe in full regulation of public activities, which includes the right to take photos and videos of other people without their consent.
For many people, this might not be a problem because they’ve never been victims of crass content creators who don’t let anything get in the way of their business. If you dare speak up against their rude entitlement to film in public and publish content with the faces of strangers, they come at you with the common defense of, “It’s a public space for a reason.”
Back in the university, young content creators in my school often made videos of other students in their vulnerable moments, post them online with a funny sound, and these clips would gain traction, with internet users leaving demeaning or insensitive comments masked as “jokes” under the posts. People didn’t bother to ask why it was normal to do such a thing to a stranger, all in the name of content.
I know there’s also an argument along the lines of, “How about if it’s good stuff?” and honestly, I wouldn’t mind because I love seeing cute moments of people filmed by strangers that could make anyone’s day. But it doesn’t override my concern for privacy and respect for people’s comfort. I believe it’s better to simply ask before filming, especially if the subjects are in close range. That way, you reduce the chances of making someone uncomfortable. Plus, people generally warm up to respectful content creators.
On my end, I try my best to film without focusing on people’s faces because I also do not like being photographed by strangers. But I’ve also realized that not everybody cares about the next person like I do, which is why I believe there should be rules governing content creation in public spaces. It should be highly regulated, especially because there are also minors whose faces can be easily captured and put on the internet without consent from their parents.
There’s also the option of putting signposts in event arenas to separate people who would like to be filmed from those who wouldn’t. Or even better, there should be a designated time for intense content creation so those who do not wish to be filmed can step away without causing a ruckus.
This way, no one is limited from doing genuine work, and people’s personal spaces are not intruded upon as well.
What I do not support is making any form of non-consensual filming in public a criminal case. At best, it should be a civil matter that can be taken up individually, with the victim duly justified by the court. In all of this, I do hope that everybody becomes a little more sensitive to others and does their best to ensure we’re not causing more harm than good to people’s privacy and self-esteem.
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