In a viral video, a TikToker films a man who appears to be filming her on the subway—sparking debate about the situation in the comments.
“Am I being a paranoid woman alone on the subway at 10pm… or is this man doing a little snap snap click click on his phone,” Sabrina Sablosky (@sabrinasablosky) wrote via text overlay on the video.
The TikTok shows a man sitting on the opposite side of the subway with his phone seemingly turned toward Sablosky. He then turns his head to look at her.
@sabrinasablosky i’m sorry but who holds their phone like that? 🥴 lowkey recording him back just in case. u never know. stay safe out there my girls #nycsubway ♬ Dumb Ways to Die – Tangerine Kitty
“I’m sorry but who holds their phone like that? [woozy face emoji] lowkey recording him back just in case. u never know. stay safe out there my girls,” Sablosky captioned the video.
In a comment, the TikToker said she moved to see how he would react and claimed that he was holding another phone behind the alleged recording phone to hide the screen.
“Guys I moved to see what he would do and he had another phone behind the one that was recording so it was blocking the screen. SUS,” she said.
With over 178,000 views, the video sparked debate in the comments about whether or not the man was filming her. Several users agreed with Sablosky, arguing that she was right to be cautious with recent reports of crime on New York City subways.
“He looked [eyes emoji] idk sus,” one user said.
“Not being paranoid, he’s filming you. Always trust your spidey sense,” said another.
“I would have said maybe but as soon as he looked at you I changed my mind, he’s for sure filming you,” another user said.
Others disagreed, calling out the woman for recording him and making assumptions based on the way he held his phone.
“You are projecting. You are the one filming,” one user said.
“I have small hands and a big phone and I hold my phone all types of ways and people always think I’m recording them on the sneak,” another user said.
“No im paranoid of how i hold my phone in the metro nowadays scared of someone making a tiktok of me,” a viewer said.
However, others said they were both paranoid.
“Y’all filming each other… both y’all paranoid snap click” one user said.
“He’s probably making the same tiktok you are. [laughing emoji],” said another.
Several commenters claimed they saw the man’s point of view in a separate TikTok, but the Daily Dot could not confirm if this is true.
Update 9:21am CT Feb. 22: When reached for comment, Sablosky told the Daily Dot via email that she thinks her video and the commentary surrounding it “showcases the degree to which men are unaware of the nuanced fears and situations that women have to go through on a daily basis. I’ve been seeing more and more women making tiktoks warning others of their scary experiences (particularly in the subway.)”
“Even more, the number of AAPI hate crimes continues to increase throughout the city. which doesn’t receive mainstream media coverage. Every woman that commented on that video agreed that it was creepy and to be careful. one woman even commented about not letting men gaslight you into thinking that’s not weird. because it is weird. We’ve all been in this shared experience and it’s clear that some men just don’t know about. or at least lack the empathy to understand what it feels like to be a woman in 2022,” she added.
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