Sunday, September 14, 2008

Technology Gone Amok


The Rocky Mountain News is under fire this week because one of their reporters "Twittered" the funeral of a three year old child who was killed when a pickup truck crashed into a Baskin Robbins. This is the lowest, sleaziest thing I've heard lately (outside of politics!). How callous!

The reporter was allowed into the funeral and once inside he sent play-by-play "tweets" to his newspaper website. For those who don't know what Twitter is, it's a social networking site where you can send "tweets" or updates from your cell phone or your computer of your daily doings in 140 characters or less. I'm on Twitter and I think it's kind of fun; I've networked with lots of other teachers around the country and learned some things from them. Some people on Twitter are just funny and send out entertaining Tweets (Fireland comes to mind); but to use this technology for a child's funeral goes beyond insenstive to me.

One of my pet peeves is someone texting in a movie theater. How distracting and rude can it be to text throughout a funeral? How could this guy think nobody would notice? This all goes to the idea of technology etiquette in our culture. Cell-phone etiquette is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. I hate being in the grocery store or a check out line somewhere and having to listen to someone's cell phone conversation. I hate being in a restaurant enjoying my meal and having Mr. Important five tables over broadcasting his importance to the whole place. Ugh!

At any rate, I think both the reporter and the paper in this case are at fault. The paper's defense is that the community was grieving and also wanted to be included in the funeral. I think there must have been a better way.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It seems that once upon a time reporters and the media in general use to be responsible and worked for the good of the citizens.

I remember, before the sleeze merchants took over, the reporter would tell the story and left the mental picture up to the imagination of the viewer. Now days, they try to capture every little gory detail by video and leaves nothing to the imagination.

I don't watch Channel 12 hardly at all. I watch Channel 6 on rare occasions, but I watch most of my news on Channel 3. And sometimes what they show or report puts me into orbit.

I don't know what is sicker, showing the scene of a human body lying on the ground, although it's cover up, but you can still see it's a human body, or showing a bloody dog being dragged to an animal control truck, and the reporter boldly and almost cheerfully reporting, "AND THE DOG WAS LATER EUTHANIZED."

And it seems that the reporter is almost happy to show viewers someone in misery. But, if the public didn't demand it, I guess it wouldn't be shown. So, I guess it's true what they say. Point one finger at the problem, and you have three pointing back at you.