The "Flip the Camera" Challenge Accused of Being Bullying — "That's So Rude!"

There's nothing quite like getting in on a TikTok trend while it's still hot and before it gets too old. You can enjoy the camaraderie and community that springs up around a trend, and sometimes you can even do a little good by spreading awareness. Or, at the least, a few smiles.

Unfortunately, not all trends are happy-go-lucky, and some are actually kinda cruel.

Case in point: TikTok's "flip the camera" trend. It seems harmless by nature, but the reality of how it has played how is cruel and unsettling, and many TikTokers believe it's bullying behavior. Here's what the trend looks like and why people are so upset about it.

The premise behind the "flip the camera" trend is actually fairly simple. There are several different ways to do it, but the majority of them seem to center on a group of friends who start dancing in a public place.

Then one of the friends will approach a stranger and ask them to hold a phone to record their dance.

It seems sweet, right? Strangers being invited to participate in a trend, friends dancing, sounds very wholesome. But the phone is passed to the stranger backwards, and the back camera is on, which means that the stranger is unknowingly being recorded.

And, bear in mind, they're holding the phone to record, so the camera is usually right up in their face at an angle that's flattering to exactly nobody.

So, what started out as a gesture of goodwill from a kind stranger wanting to help some friends have fun turns into an unflattering recording of their faces watching the group of friends.

Then their face gets plastered on TikTok, and, well, let's just say that the internet isn't always a nice place.

The trend has gotten so bad that many TikTokers have called it "bullying."

More often than not, the stranger who was unwillingly recorded is made fun of, mocked, and treated like dirt. So, that harmless-sounding prank is actually quite awful.

On TikTok, many larger creators have come out against the trend, calling it "awful" and "rude." In comment sections across the platform, users are calling for an end to the trend.

Under one video, one user wrote, "Literally popular kid humor." Another added, "And the fact they were kind enough to hold the phone for them!"

One user opined, "It really is bullying though... what is wrong with people." And another said, "They're all people's babies btw."

And the criticism goes on. While it seems like some people are enjoying the trend, overall TikTok is rejecting it. Recording someone without their consent is bad behavior to begin with, but then using their good deed to mock them is as low as it gets.

With any luck, this is a trend that will die as quickly as it rose.