A Twitter user who goes by the name @JustBasicDave decided to have a little fun recently as he waited at the Miami International Airport. "What did he do?" you ask. Well, instead of passing the time with more traditional airport activities, like reading a book, listening to music, or watching YouTube videos, he decided to put up highly realistic stickers that resembled open plug outlets.
First outlet sticker is up. pic.twitter.com/awJEOxpzjq
— Just Basic Dave (@JustBasicDave) June 14, 2017
Why Would He Do Such a Thing?
As of my writing this article, the perpetrator of this quintessential first world crime hasn't yet provided an explanation for his actions.
Part of me wants to think this was some kind of social experiment. Maybe even some kind of inclusive performance art piece or a commentary on modern people's over-reliance on technology. But I know that might be reading too much into it.
When push comes to shove, this could very well be nothing more than a "funny...only if it doesn't affect you" practical joke.
The Varied Reactions
The liveliest part of this entire ordeal were the reactions from fellow Twitter users. Some people, like @Demetrius82 and @TAbugharsa, found it delightfully wicked and praised Just Basic Dave for his super effective trolling adventure.
Pure evil and I love it.
— covfefetrius (@Demetrius82) June 14, 2017
— (ง'̀-'́)ง ɯǝǝɯɐʇ (@TAbugharsa) June 15, 2017
While others, like @vmitchell85, sought to join in on the revelry and went as far as to suggest ways to make the Prank even more effective.
You need a magnetic fake charger so you can make it look like your phone is plugged into it also!
— Vince Mitchell (@vmitchell85) June 15, 2017
A small pocket of individuals, on the other hand, could possibly see themselves in the victim's shoes and were not amused by Dave's idea of fun.
Why do you think this or any prank is funny? I truly don't get it.
— Tight Moccasins (@TightMoccasins) June 15, 2017
These people were typically met with a wide variety of negative reactions ranging in intensity, with some wondering why they were taking the prank so seriously.
These led to a series of passionate exchanges about things ranging from privacy — the fact that the victims were videotaped and their reactions to the prank were shared without their permission — to people's general right to be unbothered in public.
And what of Dave?
As you can imagine, these events have exponentially increased @JustBasicDave's Twitter engagement.
As I was scrolling through his timeline, it was obvious that his earlier tweets got little to no attention. However, after countless interview requests from large and small scale publications, as well as a couple of hours on Twitter's Moments page, his interactions have been flooded with notifications from people, like myself, who are just now finding out who he is.
But, with newfound fame comes newfound struggles. Something Dave found out the hard way that an influx of notifications can eat up your battery life.
I thought the joke was putting up the outlet stickers...jokes on me, my phone can't keep a charge with these twitter notifications. pic.twitter.com/GUQfmmsTJh
— Just Basic Dave (@JustBasicDave) June 15, 2017