The Boston Marathon explosion has sent shockwaves across the world.
All eyes are turned on the United Sates, as this isn’t something that normally happens at the Boston Marathon!
It’s been interesting to see how our modern, mobile world has played out during this disaster:
I refuse to scroll through these images. I don’t think a lot of the Huffington Post, so it doesn’t surprise me they would post these kinds of pictures. These are, after all, really people with real lives! A number of other news outlets have refused to post graphic photos–a concept of news media ethics that has been lost over the years.
But what about all those at the Boston Marathon? Did everyone whip-out their smartphones and start recording (much like we saw at the Vatican)?
Here’s a pretty tasteful video from the Boston Globe:
[tentblogger-youtube 046MuD1pYJg]
Did you see that!
There were even journalists who were giving a hand!
As you can see in the photo at the top of the post, everyone is running towards the explosions–not away from it. You’ll also notice in many of these videos and photos, that most people have kept their smartphones in their pockets. Sure, there are videos and photos on the web, but for the most part, everyone focused on what was important–and it wasn’t Instagram.
This quote from Fred Rogers, aka: Mister Rogers, seems fitting:
So true!
The Boston Marathon explosions brings up an interesting question about privacy and respect of others:
Should we be more careful about the pictures we take and share online?
The general news media have somewhat self regulated ethics as gatekeepers. They decide what’s published and printed, but with the advance of mobile technology, everyone becomes a news reporter.
I may be asking specifically about an event like the Boston Marathon explosions, but I also wonder about other times? Have you ever been tagged on an undesirable Facebook photo?
[Image via San Antonio Public Library]
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