The fame of TikTok’s one and only Chico State Pisser rose and fell, all in the span of a week. Several short videos, with nearly 100,000 views and 1,400 followers later, the culprit announced their final goodbyes to the account, due to police and university investigation. 

In the account’s last post, the account claimed the user was never actually urinating on school grounds, and instead, had used water to create the same effect. Whether that’s true or not, it hardly matters at this point. What matters most is how quickly such a childish stunt blew up online, being a perfect demonstration of social media’s obsession with shock value. 

The cycle didn’t end there. Shortly after, another pisser account surfaced, trying to milk the same stunt for attention. This displays that it’s not just about one person, it’s about the formula itself. 

Once it’s apparent that shocking content equals clicks, someone else will always jump in to try and replicate the same response. This type of content ties into human impulses, the American Psychological Association found that misinformation spreads faster when strong emotions like confusion, disgust and surprise are triggered, causing them to share impulsively and think later. 

The pissers content was exactly that and suddenly everyone is sharing, reposting, and talking whether they believe it to be real or fake. Social media platforms, especially repost accounts such as @Imshmackedchico, thrive on outrageous content. The further the limits are pushed, the better. Users enable this content through clicks, reposts and comments. Their most-liked post this month was a reposted Orion story about the Chico State Pisser.  The formula to going viral is equal to shocking the audience.

The pisser demonstrated this point perfectly. Peeing on campus landmarks and inside dorm hallways is clearly disrespectful and gross, but when someone hides behind a screen and posts it online, users reward it with their attention. Then suddenly, an indecent idea turns into a campus-wide story bringing involvement of campus police and administration.

The bigger issue here isn’t just a single TikTok account. It’s how social media normalizes this cycle of outrageous behavior. Harvard public health researchers warn that platforms push vulnerable users into “dangerous spirals” of risk-taking and potentially harmful behavior, because the algorithm rewards whatever grabs the most attention. Throughout the years it has been tide pods, killer clowns, the kylie jenner lip challenge, blackout challenge and the list goes on. 

This week for Chico State it was “fake” pee, next week it will be something else. The incentive structure doesn’t change. Platforms encourage people to push boundaries to the extreme, and students are just the ideal test subjects. 

So, what do we want Chico State to be known for? Academic success and real community stories, or another viral stunt that makes us look like we’re working overtime to live up to the Harvard of the west stereotype? The pisser may be gone but the lesson still remains, when online engagement is the currency, shock value will always reign king.

Raya Smith can be reached at [email protected].