Psychologists, body language analysts, and former educators take to TikTok stitch or YouTube reaction videos. They slow down the footage, frame by frame, offering pseudo-expert analysis. This extends the life cycle of the viral video from 48 hours to two weeks.

In the fluorescent glow of a Tuesday morning, thirteen-year-old Mia Chen had no idea that her life was about to split into two parts: before the video, and after.