Still from ‘Wisdom Teeth Removal’ video by Collins Key
Wisdom tooth aftermath videos
By Jessica Berget, Opinions Editor
When you get your wisdom teeth removed, the doctor warns you about the possible complications post-surgery—dry socket, infections, damage to nerves. What they don’t warn you about, however, is the possibility that someone might film you while you’re high off your ass and post it on social media, which I think may be the most painful post-surgery complication of them all.
Videos of people in the aftermath of wisdom tooth surgery are something the internet is all too familiar with. You can even find multiple video compilations with a similar title. People recording and laughing at their friend or family member while they’re still high from the anesthetics is an uncomfortable trend that needs to stop. This goes for all people who film others while they are incapacitated or just not in the right mind.
My biggest fear when I was told I had to get my wisdom teeth out was not the pain, nor was it the fact that I was going to be put under. I was afraid of being high on the drugs and having someone film my embarrassing, high-out-of-my-mind antics to post online. The mere thought alone was enough to embarrass me. Thankfully my mom never did that, but many other kids aren’t as lucky.
I think to do this is an extreme invasion of privacy and respect. These people are trusting their friends or family members to get them home safely after their surgeries; instead, those friends or family members exploit their positions for viral videos. If my parents did that to me, I would never be able to trust them again.
Furthermore, people who are filming the post-surgery patients at this time are often doing so without their consent while they’re saying or doing things that aren’t normal or rational for them. If someone isn’t coherent enough to be having a normal conversation, they should not be on camera.
Most of these videos consist of the patients sobbing, screaming, or just rambling because of the drugs, while the filmers laugh and sometimes even try to freak them out even more. It gets to a point where it’s actually concerning. Often, I find these videos cringy and uncomfortable to watch for these reasons. Also, they’re never funny. Can we stop making them now?
It’s highly embarrassing to have a video of you being high and doing things that you don’t remember go viral on the internet. It’s wrong to take advantage of people in that situation, especially if they’re a member of your family. It should be a private affair, not a viral one.
