Has Social Media Desensitised Us To Death?
A while ago, I had to report an image posted on a popular social media account as it broke instagrams photo sharing rules. The picture displayed dead bodies spread across the ground after an attack somewhere in Nigeria. The account wanted to make its followers aware of this particular atrocity that had taken place, but was doing so in quite a vulgar manner. The way in which the photo was shared completely denigrated those that had been killed and rid them of any privacy they once had. I wish I could say that this was the first time Id seen such an image shared on social media, but sadly, that isnt the case. Unfortunately we seem to see no value in the lives that once lived by sharing images of them in such a state for anyone to see. Yes, raise awareness of a brutal crime that has taken place, but there are other ways to do so. I think such actions show how social media has come to desensitise us from such acts of savagery. Theres no hesitation in clicking posts on Instagram or and forwarding gruesome pictures and videos to WhatsApp groups has become OK. Its as though no thought goes behind how these images can affect those that view them. You just never know how such news can affect someone. What is usually a careful curation of the highlight reel of our lives, social media has become a crucial medium which we use to react to conflict and death. Whether its the way to inform multiple people at a time of someones passing or to showcase our own reaction or grief, our social media channels have now become an instrumental tool in how we cope with death. Sometimes we use it to source information about the deceased, and for those of us left behind, it serves as a way to react and process our feelings surrounding the loss. Just a couple of years ago videos circulated on social media of the exact moment American rapper Nipsey Hussle was gunned down. As if this wasnt tragic enough, a video recording surfaced online a couple of days after his death showing his partner, Lauren London arriving at the hospital where Hussle was rushed to, in hysterics. Last year, images of the crash site where Kobe Bryant, his daughter and six others lost their lives were also shared on social media, disregarding the traumatic effect this could have on his loved ones. These are just another demonstration of how insensitive and invasive people can be when sharing some of the saddest and most vulnerable moments of a persons life on social media. A couple of years ago we were all distressed by the news of the terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand where 50 Muslims were gunned down whilst praying in a mosque, all whilst the attacker was live streaming the incident on Facebook. What was even more shocking was the number of views and the amount the video was shared across social media platforms in the aftermath, despite its tragic and devastating contents. Were living in an age where instead of living in the present, were quick to snap and post instead of rationalising and being empathetic enough to consider whether what were doing is appropriate or not. Could it be that due to the proximity of online contact we have with one another nowadays, we forget social etiquette and that everyone has a right to privacy, dead or alive. Like our own loved ones that have passed, everyone leaves behind family and friends who would not want to see their final tragic moments being reposted. Social media has become a double-edged sword of sorts in the way in which we deal with death. On the one hand its a way for us to express our grief and sorrow for the loss of a loved one, and to even share the news of their passing, seeing as in this day and age its the quickest way to spread any sort of information. Yet we also have to look at how people have become desensitised and inappropriate in the manner in which they deal with such a topic. It can be comforting for some to deal with their grief in a communal manner, but others may feel this pressure to express their emotions in a public manner. We cant deny that social media has changed the way in which we grieve. Despite going through the same processes and stages as wed normally do, we now have different mediums through which to do so.