Have Jamaicans Become a Society Obsessed With Morbidity?
I have been a user of social media for quite a while, and have gradually seen how much it has changed over time.
Social media is one of the most important inventions since the birth of the internet.
It is used to raise awareness, share news, and keep us connected from every corner of the world.
No matter where we are in the world, we all use social media in a similar fashion.
I have noticed something strange about how some Jamaicans use social media. We tend to cross the line in a way that no other culture has, at least not to my knowledge.
Under normal circumstances, if anyone finds themself at the scene of a fatal car accident, their immediate reaction would or should be, “is everyone okay, is there a baby in the car, what can I do to help, did anyone call for emergency assistance.”
These thoughts, or something along these lines would cross a normal mind. But the impulse to take out a cellphone and record a crash scene where there are deaths and images that should remain at the scene, are things that I have seen coming out of Jamaica too frequently lately.
These images often include limbs torn from the body, and blood splattered everywhere. These days, there is no accident that appears in the newspaper before the uncensored images are shared online.
It appears as if we do not understand that it is wrong to do this someone, or we do not understand that not everything is appropriate for social media.
Every time I come across these videos and photos I silently say a prayer for the family members of the victims and hope that they never come across them.
I use the word victim because in death, we are more vulnerable and are not aware that our privacy is being violated. No one want wants to be exposed in this manner, and I find it disconcerting that we cannot stop and ask ourselves; would I like someone to do that to me?
At funerals, same deal. It has become the norm to take photos of the deceased and upload to social media without consent from family members. Crimes, such as rape, are also uploaded to social media.
I wish that our people would stop and think before they use social media.
By Natalee Stack
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