Gwenhwyfar Frazier
Everyone loves a thirst trap, but please, remember, there’s a time and place.
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Jayne Rivera, of Miami, FL, is a social media influencer with roughly 85,000 followers on TikTok and 307.3k followers on Instagram.
She grew her following by sharing images of herself wearing swimsuits and other sportswear, as well as makeup and the occasional lingerie or another revealing ensemble.
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Recently, however, Rivera may have revealed too much—not of her body, but of her desire for attention.
Earlier this month she did a selfie photoshoot in front of her newly deceased father’s open casket.
The caption read, “Butterfly fly away 🕊 🇺🇸 Rip Papi you were my best friend. A life well lived.”
But the sexed-up, thirst-trap selfies didn’t have the effect that Rivera likely intended—some of her followers found them extremely off-putting.
When the post made its way to Reddit, the criticism became ever harsher, with Redditors slamming Rivera as “trashy,” “despicable,” “disgraceful,” a “b*tch,” and a narcissist. The people leaving the comments were understandably upset, because it seemed like Rivera didn’t care about her father’s death.
To these viewers, her choice to pose in front of her father’s body and casket seemed as though Ms. Rivera was using them as props. Her posing for sexy photos in the circumstances don’t read visually as someone in mourning, but someone seizing an occasion to get more “likes” from strangers on social media.
This would be an extreme form of what’s become known as “clout chasing.” And, in truth, it’s hard to excuse Rivera’s poor choice—or to overlook the fact that the photos are still up and her social media accounts are still active and open to the public.
It’s worth considering, though, that grief affects people in all different ways, some of them unpredictable. Some newly bereft people are so miserable that they’re on the lookout for any form of consolation. That would, unfortunately, often include the dopamine hit that comes from social media validation and “likes.”
It’s possible that Ms. Rivera chose a sexy outfit because she’s used to getting positive attention for them on her social media accounts. Perhaps she felt desperate for positive attention while mourning her father’s passing.
While her behavior is definitely disturbing, perhaps the rest of the internet could try to set an example for her of what more responsible, appropriate behavior looks like—by not beating up on a woman who just buried her father. Surely the world could use more kindness on any given day, even if someone seems to be making callous or self-destructive choices on their social media channels.
