Oftentimes, social media can be looked at as a "waste of time" or unimportant by both who are a member of a social media platform and those who are not. On a typical day-to-day basis, it is used as a way for time to go by, or for an easy method of entertainment. In times of tragedy and worldwide concern, however, it is admirable and often overlooked how social media hatches from its entertainment purposes and springs to life as a dwelling for the masses to come together for support and discussion.
Within the past week alone, four African-American men have been killed; three of said killings at the hands of police officers. The most recent attack took place in Dallas, Texas, where five of 11 sniped police officers were killed. The events currently unfolding in our society is something so tragic that it can be hard to read. It can be so hard as to not be sure if these uproars and outcries are signs of improvement and future peace, or signals that the bad is only getting worse. However, we would read these words on whatever daily news outlet we tend to while we drink our morning coffee, and move on with our day. Plain words on a paper can be easier to stomach than seeing raw public outcry and raw footage play out the upsetting news headlines we mindlessly absorb.
Social media platforms, namely Facebook and Twitter, have branched out their websites into letting elongated videos and live events be uploaded by users. Both of these social media outlets have become the pioneers of live video feed. Facebook added Facebook Live this past April, and Twitter has created Periscope for its users. Facebook Live started off as a seemingly innocent and nice new feature to Facebook, but the beauty of it all was the fact that because the footage is so live and raw, one would never be able to know what's about to occur. According to a comment Mark Zuckerberg released in regards to Facebook Live, the mundane "could become the suspenseful, because viewers wouldn't know what would happen next." Zuckerberg certainly had a point with that statement, as it is evident when Minnesota woman, Diamond Reynolds, utilized Facebook Live to capture the killing of her fiance in front of her and her four year old daughter just this past week. This live video helped millions realize that the current societal battle that is being waged is much heavier than words on a paper and discussion topics on talking heads news shows. The careless killings of innocent civilians has been brought to light via a method that not even Facebook saw coming.
This shocking live video helped in making Philando Castille's death a very high-profile case at the hands of law enforcement. Soon after the video was on Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg released a statement, saying "The images we've seen this week are graphic and heartbreaking, and they shine a light on the fear that millions of members of our community live with everyday." Just hours after Zuckerberg released his statement, Facebook Live (once again) captured a tragedy, this time in Dallas, consisting of 5 police officers shot and killed while protecting a protest march.
Though the fact that social media platforms are helping in making their users aware of current worldly issues, it is important to note that this is thin ice. Oftentimes, these tragedies are hard to stomach, and because of the feelings evoked in social media users, social media can become a dangerous place that harbors ideas for future heinous acts. However, through heavy times in society, it is vital that we use social media as a right pathway; as a beacon for peace and hope. It is imperative that social media acts as a tool that we have at our fingertips that we use to continuously become educated and aware of the struggles that parts of society do not have to go through on a day-to-day basis themselves. Though social media has opened several doors to voices being heard and important discussions being had, it is also important to realize that this cannot be the end-all, be-all towards our progress to peace. Hashtags and pictures produce awareness, but as a human race, which wishes to achieve equality for all, we must not simply hide behind social media profiles. Contact your law enforcement, government, and protest. Hate and intolerance cannot win and keep taking the lives of the innocent.
