The dark side of virtual fame on social networks
On October 1, the Investigation Police Agency of the Ministry of Public Security issued a decision to prosecute the accused, an arrest warrant for temporary detention, and a ban on leaving the place of residence against 6 accused for the crime of "Violating accounting regulations causing serious consequences".
Including Hoang Thi Huong (born in 1987, from Phu Tho) - General Director of Hoang Huong Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, owner of Hoang Huong Confident Smile International Dental system.
Investigation results initially determined that from January 2021 to June 2025, Hoang Huong had left nearly VND1,800 billion off the revenue accounting books, incorrectly declaring value added tax regulations for nearly VND2,100 billion in revenue.
Behind the lavish livestreams, the image of luxury houses, beautiful cars, and branded goods is a series of big questions: Is that reputation really built on sustainable values?
According to Ms. Le Anh Minh Phuc - a marriage therapy expert and personal consultant - the Hoang Huong incident is a clear testament to the paradox of the digital age.
Today, fame can come before real prestige. If fame is built from showing off instead of value, it is just a virtual light. The brighter it is, the easier it is to fade away, said the expert.
Expert Le Anh Minh Phuc believes that in the depth of psychology, social networks have awakened in people the desire to be admired and recognized.
The need to be affirmed makes both content creators and followers easily fall into collective illusion. Famousness does not mean being reliable only personality, intelligence and kindness can help people stand firm in this volatile world, the expert emphasized.
When social networks fuel the fever of idol rich people According to psychologist Mai Ngoc Quyen - Center for Psychology and Human Development of NHC Vietnam, the trend of idolising wealth is real.
This is clearly demonstrated through the public's admiration and honor of successful people who own large sums of assets.
"The goosebump becomes a measure of success, and when that image is exaggerated on social networks, it will easily become an icon for the public to follow, regardless of its true reputation," said expert Mai Ngoc Quyen.
From a psychological perspective, society always has value standards that people aim for. When society values wealth, the public can easily admire successful models.
''It can be said that this is also a mechanism of crowd psychology - when seeing an individual being praised, many people obviously consider it a value worth pursuing''' said the expert.
At the same time, psychologists also give advice: Each person needs to be alert to ask themselves: What are I nurturing? What is the true value of what you are worth? What is the ultimate goal of this fame? Only when we can answer those questions, can we not become victims of inflated health objects''.
