An influencer’s “anxious flyer” clip from a Singapore Airlines flight has gone viral, and the internet has done what it does best: turned a moment of fear into mockery and ridicule. But I’m rather sympathetic to this particular young woman.
Influencer Screams During Turbulence On Singapore Airlines Flight, Internet Turns It Into A Meme
The video was posted by Mia You, a 27-year-old influencer, who framed the clip as an “anxious flyer” moment. In it, she appears visibly panicked during a bout of turbulence, screaming and sobbing. Afterward, she apologized to the other passengers, acknowledging that her reaction may have frightened people more than the turbulence itself.
“Basically, it felt like the plane dipped and I screamed my lungs out. I’m so sorry for everyone who was on that plane because, more than the turbulence itself, I think I scared everyone myself.
“Guys, I know I’m so dramatic to scream that much, but guys, there was food flying in the aisle. It wasn’t a mild turbulence.”
@_youmia What I ate on the flight: anxious flyer edition 💅
Yet social media users have been ruthlessly mocking her with reenactments, parody videos, and snarky commentary, treating the clip like comedy content rather than what it may actually represent: a genuine moment of fear.
There is a key detail that changes the tone of the story, at least in my eye. Mia later explained that her fear of turbulence stems from a prior traumatic experience on Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 in May 2024, the widely reported severe turbulence incident that left dozens injured and resulted in a fatality. She claims she suffered a spinal fracture during that event (she was in the lavatory at the time the severe turbulence hit), and turbulence now triggers an intense panic response.
@_youmia Follow up video.
> Read More: Severe Turbulence On Singapore Airlines 777 (Images + Video)
If that is true, the instinct to mock her becomes a lot less funny…
People love to say, “If you are that afraid, do not fly,” as if travel is always optional, as if fear is something you can schedule around, or as if trauma disappears the moment you decide you are done with it. I realize that she chooses to fly and has made a name for herself with her travel-related video…but that doesn’t mean she is immune to PTSD from this very traumatic SQ321 incident.
Still, Screaming In A Cabin Is Problematic
At the same time, there is a tension here that is worth acknowledging.
A panic attack may be involuntary, but a cabin is not a private space, and fear is contagious. When one person begins screaming, it can trigger anxiety in others, including children, nervous flyers, or anyone who was otherwise managing the bumps just fine. It’s not unreasonable to wonder if her video is staged.
That does not mean she deserves ridicule, but the framing is what makes this go down harder for some people. Posting a clip of yourself in full panic mode, editing it, narrating it, and distributing it on TikTok invites scrutiny that would not exist if this were simply a distressing moment that happened onboard and then ended.
I believe we should all have little tolerance for manufactured outrage…I’m just not certain that is the case here.
There is room for two things to be true.
First, it is possible that Mia’s fear is genuine and shaped by trauma. If so, I feel for her. Severe turbulence is terrifying, and anyone who has lived through it can carry that fear for years. I still think back often to my own very scary incident on Malaysia Airlines.
> Read More: On Malaysia Airlines and the Fragility of Life
Second, screaming at the top of your lungs in a premium cabin while filming yourself is fair game for people to wonder what your motives truly are. Empathy does not require pretending the behavior has no impact or questioning how it was broadcast. But criticism also does not require cruelty.
CONCLUSION
This Singapore Airlines turbulence video went viral because it combines two things the internet cannot resist: fear and spectacle. If the framing was intentionally performative, the criticism is understandable and valid. But if the backstory is accurate, the mockery feels ugly and unwarranted. I’m willing to give this young “influencer” the benefit of the doubt…this time.
What do you make of this clip and the reaction to it?
Hat Tip: PYOK
Slow news day
Meh, honestly, just got me excited to fly SQ next month.
Re: “as if travel is always optional”. Travel IS optional (99% of the time and particularly for her). Human beings survived and thrived and evolved into the dominant species on Earth for and over millions of years WITHOUT traveling by air. No one is forcing her at gunpoint or court order. She chooses to be an influencer who flies. I’m afraid of rattlesnakes, I DO NOT choose to go camping in rural Arizona. She absolutely deserves ridicule.
Keep giving these idiots the attention they want, you get more of them. It’s not complicated.
I too always remember to start filming myself during moments of intense fear.
Exactly.
Maybe it’s just me, but if I was in this situation the last thing I would do would be to film myself for content.
That’s the thing. OK, I won’t mock her for being afraid, but I will for posting it.
An exaggerated emotional response to a PTSD trigger is a real thing, and given Ms You’s previous experience it’s understandable. My issue is that she chose to post a video of it on her socials, which strikes me as a deeply cynical exercise in engagement-farming. Good on her for getting back on the airplane, though. I was acquainted with a man who survived the explosive decompression of UA811 in 1989, and he didn’t get on another airplane until 2011. The fear is real.
“The greater the fear, the nearer the danger.”
“I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” ― Woody Allen ―
It reminds me of a lot of my dates early on. She’s there, but not really interacting with me. (Like I’m supposed to enjoy watching her eat.) This is followed by her screaming. Yeah, 3 out of 4 of my first dates in my 20s.
Joking aside, why would anyone watch this (if Matt hadn’t posted it)?
I believe the fear was real. She probably had the camera rolling for the entire flight. I also believe that she had a good idea of what would happen if she posted the video. It’s the life of a YouTuber and you take the good with the bad
What a pathetic waste of space, I pray that she’s not able to ‘influence’ ANYBODY with behaviour like that.