In the latest chapter of 'social media makes everything worse,' Ireland is grappling with a macabre trend where reckless driving videos are filmed for TikTok glory, culminating in a tragic crash that killed five teenagers and critically injured a family of four. The videos, which often start with a gloved hand turning the ignition and masked passengers filming from the back seat, showcase audacity and lawlessness, with the promise of police chases and dramatic crashes drawing viewers.

The crash occurred on 16 August when a BMW driving the wrong way down the M9 hit a Hyundai, injuring three sisters and a seven-year-old boy en route to Dublin airport. The boys who died - Joe Carthy, 15; Kamil Pustkowski, 17; Jack Kennedy, 17; Alex McCarthy, 17; and Jeremy O'Brien, 18 - were known to police, with three known to child welfare agency Tusla. Several had posted reckless driving videos before.

Mary Aiken, a professor of forensic cyberpsychology at the University of East London, describes this as 'hybrid behavior' - one foot in the real world, one in cyberspace, where 'they're thinking about the likes, they're thinking about kudos.' The tragedy has sparked polarized reactions: a fundraiser for the injured family raised over €660,000, while online abuse forced relatives to withdraw funeral notices.

TikTok declined an invitation to address a parliamentary committee, which Alan Kelly, the committee chair, called a 'slap in the face' to the Irish public. Politicians are demanding harsher penalties, including classifying wrong-way driving as attempted murder. Meanwhile, former officer Graham Kavanagh laments that society must intervene earlier to prevent troubled youths from heading down the wrong path, both on the road and in life. Because nothing says 'I care' like filming your own demise for likes.