American social media is normalizing crime, especially low-level offenses such as shoplifting. Millions, for example, have viewed posts of digital content creator “Boonk Gang” stealing shoes, not paying for haircuts, and even abducting live lobsters on platforms like Vine, Instagram, and Facebook. The creator’s arrest for robbing a Dunkin’ Donuts in 2017 only inflated his popularity, fueling a semi-successful rap career. Meantime, American youth absorb the message that not only is it okay and maybe even funny to steal—it might also boost your career. This is an incredibly destructive message.

Even more recent than Boonk Gang was the rise of the notorious Milwaukee-based “Kia Boys,” aptly named after their primary auto-theft target. These American youths steal dozens of cars per day, taking advantage of a software vulnerability in the South Korean cars. A YouTube documentary about the group posted last year has garnered well over 7 million views and spurred a “Kia Boys trend,” prompting countless posts and videos shared across TikTok with detailed instructions on breaking into and hot-wiring Kias.

Have the kids no shame?

These trends highlight how far as a society we’ve veered from the idea that shame might spur better behavior. A society that greets thieves with applause, and not social ostracization, is dystopian. It also suggests a grim future for America’s international standing; while America’s youth consume petty-crime and hot-wiring tutorials, Chinese social media, fraught as it is with censorship, promotes educational content, science experiments, and museum exhibitions to young people.