Remember the story of the boy who kept yelling, “Tiger! Tiger!” just for fun?
People ran to help every time, only to realize it was a prank.
But the day a real tiger showed up… no one believed him.
No one came.
Why?
Because the prank had become his identity.
He lost credibility.
And that’s exactly what’s happening to us today.
Our beliefs, our reactions – all shaped by personal experiences or what we’ve seen, heard, or read. So let’s not beat around the bush – straight talk only.
The Good Old Days of Harmless Fun
Remember the classic office prank where someone hides your tiffin?
Or those birthday gifts wrapped in giant boxes that turned out to have… a tiny pen inside?
Scaring someone with a rubber lizard on a chair or bubble wrap under a cushion?
We all laughed.
It was fun, innocent, and full of care.
✅ There was humor
✅ There was a boundary
✅ There was emotion
✅ There was a sense of belonging
Jokes made life light and joyful.
But today, when those jokes cross the line and become routine, they turn into a habit.
That habit becomes an identity.
And that identity starts shaping our karma… and our fate.
Hard to believe? Stick with me.
From Prank to Pressure
Back then, pranks were innocent.
Today? Many are just attention-seeking stunts.
Target someone.
Embarrass them.
Exploit their emotions.
Make them feel unsafe.
And then pass it off with a shrug and say:
“Come on, it was just a prank!”
Back then, gossip stayed within four walls.
Now it spreads like wildfire.
Say something to one person:
“Just between us, okay?”
And next thing you know – it’s viral.
No social media needed.
Back then, it was a closed circle.
Today, it’s a global circus.
Thanks to Technology (and No Thanks Too)
Earlier, pranks were moments.
Now, they’re content.
Earlier, the event ended in the room.
Today, it’s a race – who uploads it first?
Likes. Shares. Comments.
Your moment becomes someone else’s currency.
And here’s the danger:
Life isn’t a reel.
It’s real.
It has real people.
With real feelings.
And sometimes, what’s “funny” for you is a trauma for someone else.
Insensitive by Default
Now if something serious happens, we don’t help.
We film.
Why?
Because someone else might upload it first.
And in this mad dash for virality, we’ve lost our humanity.
We’ve become infected with viral sickness.
Our sensitivity has been corrupted by a digital virus.
We’ve begun believing fake scenes are more real than real life.
And capturing everything through our phone lens has become the new normal.
In fact, we’re not just waiting for pranks… we’re staging them.
If nothing shocking happens, we create the scene ourselves.
Just to go viral.
As my friend Vipul Vithlani once posted:
“Life has become like Narad Muni – just wandering across WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.”
Nailed it, didn’t he?
“It’s Just a Prank!” – The Most Dangerous Sentence Today
A girl screams on the road.
A guy hits her.
People gather, hold him back.
She cries, her clothes are torn.
Crowd wants justice.
But then… she laughs.
“It was a prank video. Just testing my acting skills.”
What?
You played with trauma for views?
These five words – “It’s just a prank, bro” – can now justify anything.
Even sin.
And the scary part?
One day when something real happens, no one will believe it.
Because we’ve made “prank” the default label for everything.
So here’s the truth:
A prank stops being a joke when it becomes a scheduled series of mental blows.
When it becomes a power play.
We’re no longer humans who feel.
We’re random reaction generators.
Someone’s crying?
Let’s shoot.
Let’s doubt it.
Let’s post it.
Our brains now run more on suspicion than empathy.
Reel vs. Real – The Final Frontier
For many today, life isn’t about being.
It’s about posting.
Instagram reels, prank videos, YouTube shorts – that’s the new personality.
Real emotions now feel like staged poses.
Even grief gets a background score and gets uploaded as a montage.
So let’s pause and ask ourselves:
- Are our relationships still real?
Or have they become modular, designed for the reels? - Is love, kindness, and care a filter?
Or something we really live?
It’s time to choose.
Do we want to live life in real-style or reel-style?
