Definition

Rooftopping is clambering to the top of skyscrapers, monuments, antennas, and cranes, and hanging from such places in a precarious manner. Most of the time rooftopping individuals who are also called rooftoppers do such stunts to gain money, thrill and fame. Rooftopping is banned in most places by the building owners and the security lets off trespassing rooftoppers with a warning or informs the police about the event. It is a kind of urban exploration in which a person gains access to a rooftop in order to take pictures of the city skyline.

Sociological Explanation

As part of fetishes and urban exploration, individuals develop new attitudes which have resulted in activities like rooftopping. These activities have resulted in many deaths and fatal injuries in the last few decades. Wu Yongning is one of the famous Chinese rooftoppers who died while rooftopping.

In risk societies, it is essential to comprehend how individuals perceive, respond to, and accept risk to manage fast social, technical, and environmental change and the side consequences of societal progress. Understanding it requires looking for generalizable patterns and norms that might lead policies to increase people’s participation with risks like rooftopping. It’s necessary to use safety equipment while doing such dangerous tasks and to have a fire department on standby. Sociologists may play a significant role in transforming risk-taking roof climbing that is now unlawful into legal risk-taking by persuading public authorities to accept it after proper safety precautions are taken.

Example

The TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube popularity of rooftoppers like Harry Gallagher shows the increasing popularity in high-risk roof climbing activities. They are thrill-seekers who usually take selfie photos, panoramic photos, and videos using selfie sticks, helmet cams, and quadcopter drones.