Tick ​​Tokers protested against filming drug users in ‘tranq tourism’.

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as if Melissa Coyne

TikTokers and YouTubers have been criticized for visiting impoverished Philadelphia communities to record videos of residents taking the highly potent sedative “trank” in a movement called “trank tourism.”

Some social media videos documenting drug use in the low-income neighborhood of Kensington show people lying on the floor or high on painkillers, causing them to stand upright and with flesh-eating wounds.

The videos often mock people with these symptoms as “zombies,” “junkies,” or even “fiends,” a recent trend of exploitation. It was highlighted again in The Guardian Sunday

In a few clips, drug users are questioned about their personal lives after taking the drug, in a way that opponents say is playing on their vulnerability.

Tranq is a nickname for xylazine, a horse tranquilizer that authorities warn can be hidden in a supply of cocaine or laced with the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl.

Severe sedation can cause breathing problems, dangerously low blood pressure, slow heart rate and potentially infected wounds. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tranq is extremely cheap; A kilogram of dangerous powder can be bought online from China for $ 6, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency warned last year.

“These videos don’t pull at the heartstrings; they make people look like animals in a zoo rather than individuals who need help,” clinical psychologist Dr Gerry-Lynn Utter told the paper.

“It’s very exploitative here; people from all over Europe and America come to the area and put their phones or cameras in people’s faces. It’s harmful because it’s not useful.

“He continues to dehumanize. These people are not in the right frame of mind to agree or participate in a social media clip.

But the videos continue, Sarah Laurel, founder of Savage Sisters, a non-profit organization that supports those affected by drug addiction, estimates that there are now “more than 150 channels dedicated to Kensington and everything that goes on here.”

Their faces are rarely blurred and #Kensington Zombies It has millions of views.

in one video Posted in “Addiction After Dark,” which has reached 1.5 million views, a woman is filmed swaying back and forth in an undisclosed location.

The interviewer asks her how old she is, and the woman replies, “Excuse me, please give me a moment.”

She later held her hand in front of her and asked the person filming her to give her some respect.

“Addiction After Dark” captioned the video: “She’s not crazy, she has a disease.”

“Addiction is a disease that needs treatment. Spread awareness, track information.

But as one TikToker said, “This is very exploitative. Sharing this video will do her no good.”

In many other videos, content creators often use words like “help” or “raise awareness” to explain their videos, and experts say some believe their clips are the only way to truly show support or shine a light on the drug problem in Kensington.

But there’s usually no way to donate money or help viewers, and sometimes content creators set up online fundraisers for addicts who never see the money, a content creator called “Jeff” told The Guardian.

Others admit that they mostly make these videos for money.

Profits on both TikTok and YouTube depend on the reach of the video.

In the year In 2022, the typical compensation for YouTube content creators in the US was approximately $4,600 per month. As an influential shopping center.

The website, which is owned by Google, typically pays about $20 per 1,000 views.

TikTok is similar, but a user must have at least 10,000 followers to start earning money.

But Jeff believes there is a way to film these videos and pour the money back into the community.

He earns $1,000 a month, which he spends on wound care and clothing supplies, according to the report.

Laurel, whose company offers storefronts such as wound care, showers and daily supplies, agrees.

“Don’t just show up and register, don’t bring resources, clean up,” she said.

“Ask the community what they need.”