Extreme content has always existed on the Internet, but until recently it was part of the exclusive redoubt of the network’s sewer: deep webforums in which you had to register to enter, P2P circuits closed to the general public. Social networks, however, are increasingly expanding their themes in more aggressive directions. The lack of moderation and the avalanche of content has created monsters like ‘The House of Twins’, a reality show inspired by ‘Big Brother‘ which was canceled nine hours after its premiere.
But who are you? Daniel and Carlos Ramos are brothers and content creators under the label ZoneTwins. They have become known for debate videos that revolve around controversy, morbidity, arguments and sometimes live violence between the guests of their program. Their accounts have hundreds of thousands of followers (just over 300,000 on YouTube, almost 400,000 on TikTok) and their style is reminiscent of entertainment programs from the beginning of the century like ‘Crónicas Marcianas’, and also dating shows like ‘First Dates’ or challenge shows, but in a more extreme way. Among its regulars are Paco Porras or Simon Perezand also include betting and gambling content (in casinos like LocoWin, with high-risk bets).
What is ‘The House of Twins’? A reality show for networks which premiered on October 12 on Kick (the twins are banned from Twitch) and YouTube and was canceled in the early hours of the next day, due to violent incidents and serious confrontations between the seven participants, especially between two women who are regulars in the ZonaGemelos debates: la Falete and Triana Marrash. The latter had its fifteen minutes of fame on a national scale thanks to ‘Tardear’ and an alleged disappearance that turned out to be a setup to gain followers.
What happened? Three contest participants voluntarily left the program before its cancellation, given the direction the program was taking, with the participants becoming increasingly drunk. Among other things, constant fights could be seen, attempts to quilting with three people involved, inappropriate comments on sensitive topics such as the war in Ukraine and destruction of the house and furniture. The organizers, when announcing the closure, spoke of “a second edition with some basic rules of coexistence and a few hours to sleep.”
Some figures. In its first hours, the program was followed by more than a million live viewers, which makes it clear that we are not exactly facing a niche product. The hashtag #LaCasaDeLosGemelos became a trending topic on X and YouTube ended up cutting the broadcast due to the questionable content. Of course, as happens in reality shows, it soon began to generate lots of derivative content from other creators commenting on what happened in the house.
extreme youtube. The type programs reality streaming like The House of Twins raise moral and ethical questions that have been object of study: emotional manipulation, exploitation of participants, loss of privacy, psychological and social effects on those who participate and consume this type of entertainment… Producers usually edit and manipulate recorded material to provoke conflicts and extreme reactions that keep the public’s attention. This strategy generates economic benefits, but results in the emotional exploitation of the contestants, who may suffer anxiety and psychological deterioration.
Other key moral dilemma revolves around the actual consent of the participants. In many productions, contestants sign contracts that allow them to be constantly filmed, without effective control over their image once broadcast: participants are recorded in moments of emotional and physical vulnerability, such as arguments or personal crises. And if these issues are considerable in realities traditional, its impact is multiplied on the internet, where algorithms amplify emotionally conflictive content to maximize public interaction.
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