Most of you have, by now, seen the viral video of the kiss cam gone wrong incident at last week’s Coldplay concert at Gillette Stadium.

If you have not, this is what happened.

Every show, Coldplay will run a kiss cam exactly the way we see at sporting events all over the world. As the camera panned to several couples, one duo was not thrilled to be spotted. 

The man involved was hugging the woman from behind as they swayed to the music, but once they realized their faces were on the jumbotron in front of nearly 70,000 other fans, they panicked, and the woman turned her back to the camera and the man ducked. Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin immediately told the crowd that, “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.”

Sure enough, there were plenty of cellphones at the show to capture the moment, that within hours went viral. Not only did millions of people around the world watch the video, but internet sleuths were hot on the trail and uncovered that the man was Astronomer CEO Andy Bryon and the woman was his company’s HR head Kristin Cabot. Both were married with families, so sure enough, the moment did capture an inter-office affair. 

Mayhem has ensued in the days since. Byron resigned from his position as CEO, Cabot is on leave, the families involved were rocked by the news (no pun intended). The still shots of the couple during the moment are now an internet sensation. Photoshop has probably been the world’s most utilized computer program this past week. 

Beyond the internet, sports teams have continued to run their own kiss cams and fans have taken advantage of the chance to poke fun, with many couples, most couples, recreating the incident. The Philadelphia Phillies have even begun playing Coldplay music to accompany theirs.

This has been, by far, the top social media story of 2025. Of course, that’s not including obvious items such as politics and whatnot. In terms of pure, unimportant internet fodder, this moment will live in infamy and be included in every “year in review” compilation video come December. 

My biggest takeaway? This is the power of social media.

Social media is an incredible tool and is more advanced than ever. As a journalist, it has made data gathering much easier, much more efficient than years past. Having that much information at your fingertips is an amazing capability. 

However, social media can also turn a couple’s affair into a worldwide story in hours.

Now, I have zero sympathy for the couple involved. Having an affair with a co-worker in a public event with 70,000 others is reckless. It’s obviously disrespectful to the families involved, a terrible look for the company, all of that. You reap what you sow.

That said, their lives were changed and now they will be publicly embarrassed forever, along with their loved ones.

I’d be lying if I pretended that I have not been entertained by some of the shenanigans that have followed. Again, what people are doing with Photoshop has been comical. My favorite that I have seen is the couple riding Splash Mountain together, for example.

But this should be a reminder of the power – and dangers – of the internet. Once you step foot outside the privacy of your own home, you are no longer safe, you are under a microscope.

For the older generations, maybe excluding this couple, this is not as hard to avoid considering social media is more of a young person’s thing. For the younger generations out there, be smart with what you do in public and remember that anything can become an online story. Be smart, exercise good judgement, and recognize that social media and the internet is the largest superpower in the world.