Over the past week, TikTok’s infamous “Couch Guy” has been dominating the internet. The video in question, which features a girlfriend surprising her long-distance boyfriend at college, has now racked up 58.5 million views– and the video’s viewers have quite a lot to say.
`The internet’s problem with the video begins with the fact that the boyfriend is seen sitting on a couch with three other girls, thus earning him the name “Couch Guy,” and spurring millions of cheating accusations. Tiktok users have rewinded and slowed the video down, claiming that “Couch Guy” is wearing a girl’s hair tie around his wrist, has to grab his phone from the lap of one of the girls, and generally does not seem to be excited enough about his girlfriend’s surprise. But TikTok’s relentless scrutiny of this intended cute video begs the question: internet, who hurt you?
“Couch Guy’s” girlfriend is not breaking up with her boyfriend over the internet’s cheating accusations. According to her, the aforementioned hair elastic is really a couple’s bracelet, and everyone in the video but “Couch Guy” was aware of her surprise– yes, even the “Couch Girls.” Still, the internet labels her “in denial.”
Ultimately, the users seem to be projecting past trauma with cheating exes onto this college-aged couple. Whether or not “Couch Guy” is cheating, a video of him sitting next to people of the opposite gender proves nothing. If he isn’t cheating, “Couch Guy” is receiving hate from people around the country for absolutely nothing. While criticizing “Couch Guy’s” actions may be fun, it’s time to stop harassing these teenagers, and let them handle their own relationship themselves.