“If you can dodge a car, you can dodge a ball.” 

Famous Viner Logan Paul yells this at the camera seconds before running across a busy street into ongoing traffic.

The 19 year-old boy’s lifestyle was comparable to any normal teenager from the local high school in Westlake, Ohio. He graduated with athletic honors in football and wrestling, earning his all-star title in 2013.

Paul gained his popularity and so-called “fame” from Vine, a social platform developed by Twitter, where users create six second videos to share with the public. He currently has more than 6 million followers on Vine, and his popularity has dramatically increased on other social platforms including Instagram, where he has over seven hundred eighty eight thousand followers.

https://vine.co/v/O1AwluM75wd

Paul’s quick rise to stardom has helped him land advertising jobs on Vine and Snapchat for companies such as Pepsi, Red Bull, Ritz, Hanes, and Virgin Mobile.

Viners are faced with the challenge to catch the user’s attention and keep their attention for the full length of the video in hopes for a repost or revine. Revines are highly beneficial because it increases the viewing audience. All users following the original Viner and the reviner will see the video, increasing the total views.

Junior Shanil Patel said, “Viners face the challenge to attract attention and followers. Due to their  hardship of limited time,  many have come to drastic measures. I have seen Viners play beer pong in the middle of the road or sit in a stranger’s car stating the infamous quote, ‘Do it for the Vine.’ ”

Similar to Paul, Viner Lele Pons has jumped off bridges, climbed into strangers’ cars, and belly-flopped multiple times for the public’s attention.

In 2014, she was the first Viner in Vine history to reach 1 billion total views in July. She then reached 2 billion loops in September, and 3 billion in December.

Miami native and current high school student Lele Pons is the queen of the catch phrase “Do it for the Vine”.

https://vine.co/v/MlAILjdqnvp

“Do it for the Vine” is commonly known in the Vine community as the commitment of one’s body, putting oneself at risk, or hurting oneself for the sake of the Vine.

Although these clips can be considered harmless or as a joke, it is portraying mixed images to young adults and children.

“Viners have to analyze how far they are willing to push themselves to reach stardom and users either support or go against their decision,” said senior Natalie Tussy. “Similar to peer pressure, Viners know what audiences want based on their total views. It is up to the Viner to define the line between stupidity and pressures from a social media platform.”

Recent Highlander polls of 200 students have shown that 38 percent of the participants believe that Viners become famous through pranks, and 19 percent accredit Vine fame to raw talent including singing and dancing.

Individuals start to believe fame is only achievable through dangerous stunts and pranks however should vine be considered as a tool to make someone famous?

Freshman Maya McClellan said, “As a Vine user, I would not classify the majority of Viners as celebrities. The social platform is commonly used by teenagers and  I have seen a scarce amount of adult users. I feel that celebrities should be appeal and relate to multiple generations, not just teenagers.”

Both Paul and Pons currently have a total of over 5 million followers on Vine and are considered to be top Viners. On other social media platforms like Instagram, users have over 5 million followers but are not considered famous.

In 2013, popular Viner Nash Grier attended the Grammys along side many celebrities. He now co-owns a clothing line sold at Aeropostale and lives in an apartment located in  Los Angeles at the age 16 with his friends.

https://vine.co/v/MuMUhwjr7II

“The honor of walking the red carpet at the Grammy’s or having a clothing line does show off celebrity like qualities. Fame from vine does exist and it’s rapid growth can lead to more viners walking the red carpet next year,” said Tussy.

In comparison to Grier’s first vines in April of 2013, he includes homemade videos of himself doing pranks, stunts, or interacting with his younger sister Skylynn. Today, Grier’s more recent vines include professionally filmed and edited clips of himself with friends having a good time.

“The shift in themes of Nash’s vines illustrates how he only used pranks and stunts to gain an audience. Once famous, he shifts his focus to a less desperate way to gain attention due to his large fan base,” said Patel.

Dangerous stunts and public pranks may be considered a phase in a Viner’s career however they play a prominent role in the image it reflects on the process of becoming an internet sensation.