Viral video of woman smoking with baby sparks outrage

NEW DELHI: Daily social media trends and reels go viral, prompting others to follow. Social media users and so-called influencers constantly come up with ideas to gain easy fame. It is increasingly challenging to gain the limelight, sometimes leading users to engage in harmful activities.

In a recent viral video, a woman, allegedly holding her baby, is seen smoking and dancing to a song. The video has sparked backlash from other users. One user shared the reel on Twitter, stating, “Now we also have to see this? This is beyond the limit.”

The New Indian team reached out to health experts to understand the psychology behind such behaviour and its impact on babies and others who watch the video.

Dr Shri Ram Kaurav, MD at MY Hospital in Indore, told The New Indian, “Such users resort to these methods to gain easy fame. While these tactics make them viral, they have numerous negative impacts on babies and others exposed to social media.”

He added, “Passive smoke is extremely harmful to young children since their immune systems are the least developed. It can lead to various diseases, some of which can be fatal.”

Typically, pregnant women and new mothers are advised to avoid smoking and drinking, but nowadays, social media attention has become more important to some people than the well-being of their loved ones.

Dr. further emphasized that if someone chooses to smoke, they should do so outdoors and away from others. Moreover, promoting such behaviour on social media should be prohibited as it sends the wrong message to viewers and might encourage others to follow similar trends.

Mothers, who are expected to provide moral guidance to their children, are unfortunately setting wrong examples themselves. Dr Kaurav remarked, “This can have psychological repercussions as children might perceive such behaviour as acceptable because their mother does it.”