It feels as if everyone’s been watching Squid Game, a Korean TV drama about wage disparity and the general anxieties of modern life.
In the show, people who owe massive debts are rounded up and asked to take part in a series of deadly games. Every time someone is killed, the piggy bank fills up, until there’s one left standing. There can be only one winner.
One modern anxiety the show doesn’t capture, however, is the fear of having your social media account banned — especially if your job relies on such an account.
Yogscast member Lydia Ellery has been going by the handle ‘SquidGame’ for years now without an issue. The creation of her social media accounts far predates Netflix’s show. However, as soon as the show burst into the zeitgeist, she began receiving messages from fans, asking why she had the official Squid Game account on Instagram.
This all came to a head yesterday when Instagram blocked Ellery’s account.
Number 1 on the front page of Reddit due to Instagram banning my account! I was being inundated with messages from fans from the show but now Instagram have completely blocked me from using it pic.twitter.com/2rsUqtYcGP
— Lydia (@SquidGaming) October 8, 2021
So far, only Instagram has taken any action against the handle, and Ellery still owns the ‘SquidGame’ account on Twitch. Hopefully, she can pile on the pressure to get the decision reversed on Instagram.
Ermm I think so many people have been trying to log into my account or reporting it (squidgame) that instagram have banned me. Very not cool.
— Lydia (@SquidGaming) October 8, 2021
If you haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, Squid Game is on Netflix now.
In more streamer news, Twitch finally says it is taking action against users who have taken part in a recent spate of hate raids on the service. Elsewhere, some of the big streamers have been leaving Twitch, with both DrLupo and TimTheTatman signing deals with YouTube Gaming.
Written by Kirk McKeand on behalf of GLHF.
