OpinionSurfing This article is more than 5 years oldWhat makes Kookslams so compelling? Schadenfreude and our shared humanity
This article is more than 5 years oldTravis LipshusThe Instagram account is also very funny
Four young men stand on the edge of a rock pausing where it is roped off next to the ocean. As a wave starts to roll in a couple of them realise what is about to happen and begin to run.
But it is too late, the wave crashes through and sweeps them across the rock, pummelling them. They are a bunch of kooks.
It is hilarious and it’s been viewed by about 762,000 people on the Instagram page @kookslams, followed by more than 1 million people.
The word “kook”, a pejorative used by surfers derives from the word kuk meaning “shit” and just like surfing, its usage originated in Hawaii.
As both population and popularity of the sport has increased, the locals of these once-quaint coastal towns have been inundated with beginners, tourists and, well, everyone.
The tension occasionally culminates in ugly physical tribalism fueled with modern aggression, something the older generations will tell you is the opposite of the ethos of surfing and all in the name of their place of daily worship.
One of the silver linings of the increased lineups though has been watching those attempting to tame a piece of the ocean without understanding it, occasionally observed by an iPhone and ending up on our social media feeds.
It’s how @kookslams was born, combining surfing and “fail vids”.
Reposting content from around the world of kooks being slammed, the page is run by three guys from California who thankfully have not taken themselves too seriously.
“We just want it to be clear that we aren’t trying to hate on anybody. Everyone who has spent a fair amount of time in the water, ourselves included, have had their fair share of kookslams. We are simply embracing it, and laughing about it,” they told Surfer Magazine in an interview which did not reveal their identities.
Growing in popularity, it has kept a clear purpose since its inception in 2015, to show people getting hurt in ocean-related activities, ie kooks being slammed.
The curation of the page is careful, has good content and funny tags that maybe make you flinch, unlike the sickness attached with say watching another skateboarder irreparably damage their limbs on other fail video pages. You can watch this with your kids and my friends do.
“Pretty much our main rule is the Death Rule. Like, if the person literally died, that’s where we’ll draw the line. We have some other loose rules, too. We try to keep things clean and stay away from any video that’s super vulgar. We have a large following of young kids, so we’re not trying to pollute brains here,” one of the creators told Surfline.
I watch these videos every day and I know it’s the same with most of my peers, so what makes the content of these fail videos so compelling?
Social comparison theory is worth a thought: that when people around us have bad luck we look better to ourselves internally. I have worked in sales for years and can tell you that’s very true, no matter how good a person you are.
Researchers have also found that people with low self-esteem are more likely to feel schadenfreude than people with high self-esteem and interestingly there are studies linking social media use with decreased self-esteem.
Does our daily usage of social media make us feel better about ourselves? Especially on Instagram, our most narcissistic platform?
If I cared about how people perceive me, I certainly wouldn’t be writing an article in the Guardian about an Instagram account called Kookslams. What I appreciate is that these fail video moments can happen to anyone.
Which makes them even funnier, we have all been a kook at some stage in our lives. Surely people will read this and remember times I have been a kook that I don’t even remember.
Maybe I am balancing schadenfreude, which I was taught is a sin, with an embrace of our own failings. Is it the shared humanity of these videos that I like?
Or maybe, the content is simply good.
At the very least, Kookslams is a strong reminder to not overstep your abilities when dealing with a wild environment like the sea that has fostered countless stories of unforgiveable tragedy.
I showed my roommate who teaches people how to surf his first taste of Kookslams last weekend, and laughing but captivated he said, “that can happen to anyone man” before following up with “you must respect the ocean”.
The page isn’t just popular with surfers, famous (Kelly Slater) and kooks (me). I know people who go to the beach a few times a year who are avid followers, I have elderly friends at home at night on their iPad chuckling. There is a top Instagram beauty influencer that my girlfriend Haylee pointed out had listed Kookslams as one of their favourite accounts.
The ocean is powerful and it’s not for everyone; if you do not show it respect it can end you in a moment. There is an old saying that says “never turn your back on the ocean”. But people will continue to not listen and we will continue to get funny videos.
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