Skip to main content

As Periscope’s popularity increases, so will dumb and illegal activities

As with all social media platforms, it’s only a matter of time before someone ruins them for everyone. In the case of Periscope, one of the newest and increasingly popular services for live-streaming, idiocy has already made its debut.

The Lakeland Police Department in Florida was notified Saturday that a 23-year-old woman, Whitney Beall, was not only driving drunk,  but Periscoping herself while doing so. Viewers messaged and texted the woman, asking her to stop driving for her safety and the safety of others on the road. But Beall continued to use the app to broadcast herself, and part of her streaming video even includes admitting she’s drunk and has no idea where she is.

Recommended Videos

Although Periscope — owned by Twitter — has only been around since 2014, this intoxicated woman isn’t the first incident of people behaving badly on the app. While the occasional flashing of genitalia can probably be expected (because it has somehow become an Internet norm), Scopers have already broadcast themselves snorting cocaine and engaging in other illegal and dangerous activities. Because of the convenience of mobile apps like Periscope and Meerkat, it’s almost guaranteed that there will be users who decide to live-stream at the most unflattering times.

On the upside, law enforcement’s job becomes a little easier when people use social media to record and share their illegal escapades. Incidences such as Beall’s provide cops the extra assistance in catching criminals, while essentially providing evidence of illegal activity that can later be used against the criminal. The San Francisco Police Department even has an officer whose job is to monitor Instagram. “There’ll be thieves showing off their goods on these services, “ says Family Online Safety Institute president, Stephen Balkam. “That’s as stupid as it gets.”

Christina Majaski
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Christina has written for print and online publications since 2003. In her spare time, she wastes an exorbitant amount of…
Bluesky finally adds a feature many had been waiting for
A blue sky with clouds.

Bluesky has been making a lot of progress in recent months by simplifying the process to sign up while at the same time rolling out a steady stream of new features.

As part of those continuing efforts, the social media app has just announced that users can now send direct messages (DMs).

Read more
Reddit just achieved something for the first time in its 20-year history
The Reddit logo.

Reddit’s on a roll. The social media platform has just turned a profit for the first time in its 20-year history, and now boasts a record 97.2 million daily active users, marking a year-over-year increase of 47%. A few times during the quarter, the figure topped 100 million, which Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman said in a letter to shareholders had been a “long-standing milestone” for the site.

The company, which went public in March, announced the news in its third-quarter earnings results on Tuesday.

Read more
Worried about the TikTok ban? This is how it might look on your phone
TikTok splash screen on an Android phone.

The US Supreme Court has decided to uphold a law that would see TikTok banned in the country on January 19. Now, the platform has issued an official statement, confirming that it will indeed shut down unless it gets some emergency relief from the outgoing president.

“Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19,” said the company soon after the court’s verdict.
So, what does going dark mean?
So, far, there is no official statement on what exactly TikTok means by “going dark.” There is a lot of speculation out there on how exactly the app or website will look once TikTok shutters in the US.

Read more