The Story "Who We Are and What We Could Be" is hosted by Brooke Gladstone. Brooke briefly shares her ideas regarding the role of social media in the tragic deaths of two Virginia journalists.
Physical:
This story takes place right on social media. WDBJ Journalists, Alison Parker, and Adam Ward were gunned down by a former employee during a live morning broadcast. The horrifying reality of this selfish act was shown from the killers perspective as it was taking place.
Psychological:
With all the gun violence happening in the world today, this specific incidence adds a new twist to it. With this twist, it also adds a whole new emotional response to it. It is bad enough to hear, and see the aftermath of these types of violent acts, let alone to experience as it unfolds on social media. I cannot begin to image the emotions going through the minds of the other co-workers watching this as it happened.
Social:
The shooter, Vester Flanagan, was a disgruntled former employee at the television station WDBJ. He was simply acting out of rage, because he had been fired, and also felt that that he had been mistreated. After taking the lives of two co-workers, and injuring another, Flanagan took his own life. Flanagan takes breaking the rules to a whole new level by showing this type of violence from his point of view.
Cultural:
In a report from CNN news, it indicates that Flanagan used other means of social media to reach out as well. They say that authorities are trying to piece together all of this information to find a motive for the killings. In a message that he sent to ABC, it reveals that racial discrimination and sexual harassment where among some of the reasons for his actions. It seems that he was adamant about sharing this on social media in a well thought out plan.
Temporal:
The impact this story has on social media is huge. It changes the idea of how, what, and where social media can be used. This act was not carried out because of social media, but was unfortunately used as a tool to share it. I believe that this is the message that Brooke Gladstone is trying to get across during this segment of On The Media.
It is easy to know of the truthfulness of this story, because of the nature of how it was shared with the world. Although, I do not agree with how he shared it with the world. Perhaps there is a deeper meaning to his actions. Perhaps it was his way of telling the world exactly how it was, as to not have any details or questions as to what really happened. Maybe he felt that no one was listening, and this was his only way to be heard. However, I in no way support, or condone his actions in any way. I feel that sometimes it is hard to decipher what is true, and what is falsehoods in the news, and on social media. I just hope that this act of violence does not give others that feel this way, a new idea on being heard.
I really enjoyed your final thoughts. I find it hard to believe that somebody would do something so horribly wrong, but who knows maybe he felt like it was the only way he could be heard. I also hope that this doesn't bring a new string of people wanting to get their points across, but didn't know how until they saw this and noticed just how much attention Flanagan got.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way you summed up the different contexts of this horrible story. It's so shocking, not only because of the violence but also because I don't think anyone ever thought that one day social media could be used in this horrifying way when the first people started using twitter, facebook and other websites.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you're right and Flanagan really thought this was the only way he could make people listen to what he has to say. If that is the case, probably all we can do is to not pay attention. And I don't mean "don't pay attention to the story as a whole" because it is too shocking and alarming to be overlooked but rather in the way that people shouldn't pay attention to the material Flanagan uploaded and (sadly) many other users copied and in turn uploaded it on their websites.
Great insight, Anette. You have such a good point that how Flannigan shared a first person view of his actions was extremely emotionally upsetting to so many people. I also find it interesting that because of the videos he uploaded, several social media outlets found it important to re-assess the system that automatically plays videos as they show up on news feeds. Our understanding and communication of current events in today's world is definitely effected by Social Media.
ReplyDeleteI hope that this doesn't spark copycats as well. For some reason, I can't shake the idea that this will soon be used to broadcast retaliation against the police in America. I hope that I am wrong. I personally believe that Flanagan was crazy. I liked your commentary about what you believe his motives were and I agree, but I can't imagine that mental illness didn't play a large role in these killings. I suppose I don't understand the criminal mind but I truly can't conceive of a sane human being committing this type of act. His employment history seems to suggest mental illness as well. I think part of me hopes that he was crazy. I don't think I'm comfortable with the idea that any sane person is capable of this.
ReplyDeleteYour final thoughts on how this was his way of voicing his opinion was well put. I believe that social media is such a powerful tool in voicing our opinions that sometimes it can be used for bad intentions. I hope that moving forward, we can use social media for positive purposes to help our generation of people grow stronger.
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