Week 6: Do We Go Too Far or Are We Connected

I know we can have many discussions on how we are influenced, impacted, engage with, or use Web 2.0 platforms, specifically social media - but this weeks Ocean Gate crisis could be a case study. 

I want to preface by saying, I am not here to say what is right or wrong/good or bad, I am just hear to pose the discussion and view of the way in which the world started to participate in the no pun intended downfall of this submarine. 

Since the news broke on the tourist submarine vessel not being back, social media sites erupted. From creating Twitter handles to track the oxygen ( @Titanicsub ) to TikTok videos highlighting top tweets making fun of the crew trapped inside (I will not include that, we have all seen it), it was astonishing the amount of information. This draws on my thoughts for this blog and I would be interested for anyone who wanted to contribute: 

  • Objectively - does it show connectedness that so many people around the world can engage in conversation around one topic or event? 
Again, I am trying not to make an opinions about the content being shared, just making generic and encompassing statements. 



Comments

  1. MarionJune 23, 2023 at 5:13 AM

    That's an interesting question.
    Though I followed the news about this dramatic event, I just kept myself up to date with a news app and I did not hear or watch anything on popular social media platforms. Reading your lines made me realize how we, as human beings, can easily demonstrate the worst and the best of us. Based on the examples you gave, I don't think humanity shined in that particular case.
    That being said, this also shows how some events are viewed as hot topics and trigger reactions all around the world. I would say such topics reveal connectedness among individuals as some situations and events trigger fundamental emotions like fear, joy or sadness in human beings. On the other hand, I don't think people joking or a tragic event or bullying others give a sense of belonging or a sense of connectedness to individuals engaging into such behaviors. What I mean is I have a hard time thinking that people act like this on social media to belong to a group of bullies or a group of people joking about bad things hapeening to others. I might be idealistic or naive, but I'm convinced being mean is not a fundamental emotion people are looking after as human beings, and thus is not triggering connectedness. They just generate bad vibes and stupidity. This is just my mindset!

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  2. Jeffrey FJune 27, 2023 at 10:15 AM

    I definitely followed the saddening news about the titanic submersible. It seemed as though the entire world was focused on the lost submarine, and it also seemed everyone had an opinion on the matter as well. From top marine scientists to the everyday twitter user who knew absolutely nothing about water depth, pressure, oxygen retention and or any other factor that was playing into the search and rescue of these 5 men. To answer your question, we are all connected. The planet earth has become so small with regards to interconnectivity and globalization whether you are a proponent for this or adamantly oppose it. It is simple, the major news outlets pick up a story, they continue to push a narrative and the public bites hook line and sinker, and all the sudden it becomes a polarizing topic. With 24/7 365 news coverage, they must fill their time slots somehow. This particular case was worth noting in my opinion, but we are most definitely connected for better or for worse now. decades ago, a person in the United States would have no idea of what was going on in some far away corner of the globe. Now, we have 24/7 news media coverage and also, everyone has a phone. Again, I do not know if we can ever go back to being a more local or regional focus on media.

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