Maybe it's just her way of dealing with grief.
By Sanika Nalgirkar — Written on Jul 07, 2022
One nurse’s way of expressing her grief may have been unsuccessful in gathering sympathy after she received criticism from social media users for posting a video about it on TikTok.
The video was seen as insensitive and narcissistic, causing viewers to express outrage about how absurd the post was.
In the viral TikTok, the nurse says a patient died during her shift.
The nurse, Olivia Tyler, is seen pacing in a hospital corridor looking teary-eyed and using her hands to cover her face.
The caption of the video reads, “Lost a patient today.”
“Unstoppable” by Sia is playing in the background to create a sad atmosphere.
The video finally ends with Tyler leaning on the wall behind her and looking lost in thought with the caption, “Shake [it] off, you have 5 more hours.”
The post may have been intended to show what hospital workers are forced to overcome on a daily basis, but viewers thought the message was communicated poorly.
Due to the amount of backlash, Tyler deleted the video and her TikTok account.
However, that hasn't stopped the barrage of criticism and videos mocking Tyler.
Many thought that posting a video about a person dying right after they died wasn’t the best way of expressing grief.
That led people to think that Tyler may just be creating the TikTok video for “clout” — a slang term referring to attention and influence garnered through social media.
One user wrote, “If I find out I died for clout, I'm coming back.”
“No health professional faces the death of a patient in such a way. That is, plain and simple, a lie and a lousy performance," another user wrote. "Seriously unethical, it should be forbidden to film this type of material in health institutions, and the protagonist should be sanctioned.”
Others supported the nurse, expressing empathy over the troubles that come with being a health professional and sympathizing with Tyler’s loss.
One user wrote, “I don't feel like it's automatically performative or whatever. I'm sure it's hard to lose a patient. And I've taken selfies while crying my eyes out. Sometimes you just wanna feel seen when you're going through it.”
Another user wrote, “Health care professionals deal with death all the time. It is normal for them. She filmed 1 situation and she is a villain?”
Sanika Nalgirkar is a News & Entertainment Writer based in Seattle. She has a master's degree in Creative Writing. See more of her writing on her website.