Exploitation goes viral

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There was a video that circulated this summer that, for me, exemplified a new kind of cultural heartlessness. A young woman – who was obviously having some kind of a psychological or emotional break down – was walking around in the middle of traffic in New York City, screaming and kicking at cars. This was taped and posted to YouTube, where the video quickly went viral. What I found most disturbing about the video is all of the people around her with their phones up, video-taping her. Dozens of people are staring, laughing, and recording her, but not a single person stepped forward to try to help her. NOT ONE. 

It is one of the most cruel and uncaring displays of human behavior I have ever seen.

People video-taping a woman having a break-down. (Image via YouTube)

This new form of exploitation – taping vulnerable people and then sharing those videos with millions on the Internet – doesn't stop at just humiliating and mocking their subjects. In October, a sleeping woman was sexually assaulted on a subway train. The man across from the woman video-taped the entire incident, which did not stop till she woke up and punched the man groping her. The man who recorded the crime claims that he was too scared to intervene and wanted to use the video for evidence. That does not explain why he posted the video to his YouTube account, nor why the victim didn't know that her assault had been recorded until she saw the video after it went viral (the video has since been removed.)

Douchebag in mid-assault. (Image via YouTube)

Is that where we are as a culture? Are we now so uncaring that we feel comfortable watching the sexual assault of a stranger on our home computer? Are we so insensitive that we can't imagine how it would make this young woman feel to see that her assault has been viewed thousands of times by strangers? Are people truly so self-centered that they cannot put themselves in someone else's shoes and imagine how vulnerable it must make someone feel to have his/her worst day put on display for unfeeling strangers? Strangers who are going to comment on and forward the video of his/her story like it's of no more value than another episode of their favorite TV drama?

It seems that we have become so callous as a society that even when we see crimes being committed, many people's first instinct is to record and share it online, rather than stop it. We are no longer content to stand behind police tape and gawk at the aftermath of the crime; now we want to watch it while it happens. You can find video of all kinds of crimes and their victims on the Internet. I am shocked that when someone is subjected to such a public pain, another person would dare take advantage of it to satisfy their own morbid curiosity or desire for Internet fame. It is disgusting; it is selfish; and it is utterly cruel.

Image via the AP

Now, some might argue that there is a great benefit to having people record crimes on their phones. After all, what better way to catch a criminal than to have their picture? What better evidence to have in court than a video of the crime? I would agree that there are many situations in which simply standing back and recording evidence is the best course of action (for example, when there is a mob, or there are weapons involved.) However, most of the time when I see these videos I wonder why people were using their phones to record the crime instead of calling the police? Or, as in the example of the woman being sexually assaulted, why someone didn't step in and do something ? As beneficial as it was to have her attacker's face on video, I'm sure that woman would have preferred for someone stop the assault from happening at all. 

We have become accustomed to having entertainment at our fingertips any time we want it. However, it would appear that our ability to record anything at any time has corrupted what we think of as entertainment. What started as a fascination with reality television has grown so that we are no longer satisfied with staged reality; now we want true reality. We want to watch real people actually being humiliated. We want real devastation. We want to watch it all as it happens and feel like we are right there with the rest of the crowd, standing off to the side, trying to get a clear shot with our cameras.

I don't know what, if anything, can be done about this. As far as the technology goes, the genie is out of the bottle, and now we must learn how to manage it. In a world where we share pictures of our food and update people on what we are doing several times each day, the question of what privacy is must be redefined. The question of what must be shared and what must not be shared needs to be revisited. A good place to start would be here: If someone is in distress, or needs your help, don't tape them --  help them. Don't make other people's sorrows your sitcoms. 

(NOTE: At the risk of seeming incomplete, I did not provide links to the mentioned videos. It felt wrong to me to promote the viewing of videos that I feel are exploitative.)

From the Judges:

I love this topic! I often wonder why and how people are becoming so desensitized. Your post was incredibly well-written, and your passion and writing voice really shines through. I also appreciate that you chose not to include those links. If you had, it would have invalidated your argument a bit. Fantastic post!
-Pinwheels and Poppies

I never saw the videos. As someone who works in TV news, this is something I struggle with. Am I supposed to be a fly on the wall or step in when something is going down? I like to think I would step in but I just don't know if I would. As far as the lady in the street, I'm not going yo look at the video, but you see a lot of people like this in NYC. It doesn't condone the fact that nobody stepped in, but where do you draw the line? Anytime I drive through Times Square, I could see ten people acting out in the street.

Anyway, it was a good rant where your passion came through. Most of my rants just go on and on without a point. Yours was clear and thought out with good examples. Nice job.
-Daddy's in Charge?

Interesting topic. As tv news guy, something I've always been aware of and sensitive to. You make a great argument. Clear and to the point. The passion comes through. You use specific examples and tell the background without droning on. However, you lost me with your paragraph of questions. I am guilty of the same thing sometimes. But before I publish I will back and consolidate them, even make some of them declarative statements. It makes it easier to read.
-Daddy Knows Less

This is a fantastic post. I have seen this happen so many times and it truly disgusts me. As human beings, our first priority should be to help those in need - not film it for the sake of being famous ourselves. Your post was well written and flowed easily - I did not find myself drifting off while reading it at all. I think you really nailed the assignment. Great work.
-Non-Stop Mom

I too have asked the same questions before. It seems like when an incident happens, the first instinct now is to grab our phones and record a video of what's happening instead of stepping in and actually doing something to stop it from happening. But then I've never been in that situation before so I can't really say I know better than others. Thank you for not including links to the videos. Knowing myself, I would probably go and check them out. This is a very good post. It causes the reader to think about what's happening to our culture and maybe ask if technology is causing us the desensitization.
-Bay Area Mommy

You really hit the mark with this post. The flow was seamless, your transitions were great, and I really liked your conclusion. Thank you for paying attention to punctuation and proofreading, as that is a huge part of what makes a post interesting and convincing. I can't even sit through a post that disregards basic punctuation and grammar rules. If you want to be heard, you have to assume your reader is of average intelligence and will catch on when you slack off regarding these things. That is what will make or break your readership. You wrote with authority, and you also paid attention to formatting, grammar, and punctuation. I can only say thank you!

On a final note, I loved that you talked about such a socially relevant topic. Technology has changed everything over the years and knowing when to unplug and be present in the real world is so important.
-Conversate is not a word and other abuses of the English language (guest judge)