The internet is a very handy invention; it allows users to discover any information on whatever they desire just by using their fingertips. It also lets people make connections they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. However, being able to discover and share all that information isn’t inherently a good thing. It can harm others and potentially ruin careers at the drop of a hat. The current state of the internet is absolute chaos, with big names like TikTok, Roblox, Kai Cenat, and more all experiencing their own controversies.

TikTok has sold one of its branches, ByteDance, to a group of non-Chinese investors to create a new TikTok-esque app exclusive to the United States. TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew, sold more than 80% of the stocks to American investment firms. These firms, being Oracle, MGX, and Silver Lake, now own around 50% of ByteDance, with original investors still holding 25% and the original company maintaining its 25 percent of ownership. The decision was made to bypass a law that would have shut down TikTok entirely if passed. The CEO himself states that it is great news and allows TikTok to thrive, but there is still uncertainty about whether there will be any major changes after this decision.

Popular streamer Kai Cenat released a YouTube video titled “I Quit,” in which he explains that he has given up on streaming and would be leaving the streaming industry for the sake of his mental health. Soon after that video, he made a new YouTube channel in which he vlogs his life. Not only this, but Kai also announced a new clothing brand called Vivet. Due to these decisions, his fan base was split into two, with one supporting his decisions while the other hating and calling his choices poor and attention-seeking. Ryan Huynh, a 10th grader here at Mt SAC Early College Academy (MECA), who is an avid fan of Kai Cenat’s streams, tells us, “I really, really like Kai Cenat, and I think that his decisions are needed to help him stay mentally healthy. I also think that he’s making a new clothing brand is really cool and that the merch is cool.” On the otherside of the fan base, Ethan Bymaster, another 10th grader, tells us how much he dislikes Kai Cenat. He describes him as a “Larp Larp Larp Sahur”,  someone who acts like another character to gain attention. He adds that Kai should not try to paint himself as someone he is not and is doing too much by posting videos of himself reading books after he said he quit.

While Kai Cenat is dealing with his criticism, the Marvel Rivals community has become outraged at a recent tournament involving content creators playing for a prize pool of $40,000. The situation begins with a Twitch streamer by the name of Kingsman, who was placed in a team with other streams like him. As the tournament began and Kingsman and his team were placed into the first match, one of his teammates began to do really badly, leading to Kingsman giving some advice on how they could improve in order to win. This advice was quickly rejected and was met with heavy backlash, along with many insults such as “broke college student” and “online basement dweller.” Kingsman, who was now confused about why his team was calling him these things, explains that he needed the money for his college debts. His team, hearing this, decided to make fun of him, calling him a “broke, desperate loser” and telling him that they were in the tournament to play for “the vibes” and not the money. Soon after these comments were made, Kingsman was kicked off the team for the tournament and was not allowed back. The community, catching wind of this, was infuriated and supported Kingsman by donating the money he would have gotten by winning the tournament. Meanwhile, his previous team received heavy backlash and became the target of mockery within the community, with many memes made about them.

With so many situations going on, not even big corporations are safe. One such company is Roblox. David Baszuki, the CEO of Roblox, has made some changes that have left the players extremely unhappy. One major change that affected the player base was the new age chat verification rules, which require players to have their faces scanned to talk to others on Roblox. After scanning, the verification would put players into an age group where only those of similar age can talk to each other. On the surface, this decision seemed reasonable as it would keep the players safe, but instead, there were many problems with the scan, as the AI used to verify your age was very buggy, to say the least. Some players have expressed that the AI can be easily bypassed with things like Barbie Dolls and mannequins. Not only that, some players who are 18+ got put in a group where their age was completely wrong, such as being put in the 12-year-old group. This has made many players unhappy, as some cannot even play with their friends or talk to them anymore.

With the internet drama being everywhere right now, it seems like no one is safe from being caught in this web of controversy. As time goes on, hopefully things die down, and maybe we see a future where there is little to no controversy on the internet.