What's The Point...of Turning Tragedy into Content

In a world where not everyone has cable but does have a phone and access to social media, it's not surprise that news breaks and spreads on that medium.

World News is literally at our fingertips now, but so is the way we react to them.

Social media platforms have given us all voices when we thought we didn't have one. It gives us the privilege to conceal ourselves behind user names so that we can be protected from those who don't agree with us.

It gives us news that is otherwise censored on cable. We get to see everything. We have access to everything.

But do we utilize this power responsibly?

The internet is a powerful medium, and when we see something wrong, all of us strangers band together to seek justice. Comments are posted, the topic goes viral, the news piece gets attention, and in some cases, the proper authorities take action. 

It's a small win, but it is there. There's satisfaction in knowing you have helped a person get justice even if they live on the other side of the world.

We see adults being mean to kids? The video goes viral, and the person is mocked. The kid is compensated for whatever is taken from them.

That makes us all heroes. We are using social media to save the world and make it a better place, one viral post at a time.

But now, let's look at a different example. We see news reports of stabbings and assassinations of political figures, but in social media, we see actual videos of them.

In one way, witnessing the actual horror makes us want to seek justice for this criminal act even more, on the other hand, we are sharing disturbing content to people who may just enjoy being a voyeur. This content is being distributed to people who may not be mentally sound or even morally sane.

They may be using it as inspiration to fuel their twisted desires. The motivation behind circulating these videos is to bring to light the heinous crime. They may be doing more harm than good.

It doesn't help that people hiding behind their computers are mocking these deaths and making memes out of them. There will always be some people who use the freedom of speech to spew immoral statements.

Someone dying will never be funny. Just because someone's opinions do not align with yours does not mean that the only way to win an argument is if that person simply did not exist.

Someone who was minding their own business in a train before being attacked is not a meme. Her scared expressions are not meant to be mocked.

Ridiculing people who have no control over their own health is not funny. 

Making light of an incident that took the life of innocent kids is also not appropriate.

Yet these posts will exist. Those who want more followers think the best way to generate interest is by going viral with dark humor. 

But they can say it. The freedom to say anything on social media is completely acceptable. This means that while social media can be a hub for breaking news and events, it has also become a bog of vile comments and to spread hatred.

But the choice is always ours. Social media does give you the option to report and block.

The choice will always be to either spread positive and helpful information or incite more hatred towards other people. 

In the end, social media reflects who we are. And who we choose to be, when faced with tragedy matters.