® Andy’s blog of blogs

I’m not normally given to posting “opinion pieces” on here, because there are many others who do that better and more loudly than me. However, today I do feel moved to post something which is more important that my usual ramblings …

I was saddened to read the following about a 19-year old who chose to commit suicide live on webcam on livecasting site justin.tv. It’s not the first time it’s happened, and I’m certain it won’t be the last! The fact that he chose to end his life is a tragedy and my feelings go out to everybody in his family and real friends affected by his death. The fact that his online watchers … watched, encouraged, laughed, and did nothing to help is a tragedy  too, and the one I wanted to comment on …

I’m a big advocate of the positive benefits of our connected world and its ability to bring us closer together. However, a downside is that it’s desensitizing us all to the value of people through the pervasive availability of ghoulish content that wasn’t available to the majority before and through the mob reaction of a bunch of people sat safely behind insulated keyboards. If the watchers of this particular event had been there in person would they have done nothing or encouraged him onwards? Would any of us have wanted to watch ten years back? Just because you can now connect to a gazillion people just that reduce the value of each of them to the point their life and its passing is just like that of the ant you tread on because you can and because there are a million others anyhow?

Now maybe I’m just a sensitive soul … but I for one do think this desensitivity is a worrying negative effect of our world of socially spread media. Despite trying my best to avoid it, I’ve come across various things on the web for which I wish I could get out the mind bleach and scrub from my mind. In this case I’m not suggesting we forget this lad’s death, but that we don’t need to swap the video and laugh about it and see it as a thing whose value is simply entertainment! Heck … maybe the rest of the world has always been sick bastards who’d have loved to have watched if they could (hmmm … public executions = family fun day out), but I’m determined and my boys won’t become desensitized to the violence and sadness in the world and it’s real impact on real people!

And here endeth the sermon … I’m off to look at pictures of some busty celebrity in her bikini on my favourite celeb site ;-).