How Social Media Affects Empathy: Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Mass Shooting
Image of Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Shooter
**Trigger Warning: Discusses active shooting.
This is my summary of the events that occurred yesterday afternoon at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, and the role that social media plays in news today.
On the afternoon of June 30th, 2017, Dr. Henry Bello made his way into Bronx-Lebanon Hospital with a AR-15 rifle, hidden under his lab coat, and went on a rampage on the premises. Bello, 45, was a former employee of the hospital who resigned after sexual harassment accusations. He had set himself on fire and shot himself in the head, but not before killing one other doctor and wounding six others. (Read more about the shooting here.)
I was in my apartment with my younger brother and grandma, just 5,000 feet away from the hospital, when the event happened. It was all very scary and tense. You could feel the fear and tension as we all huddled around the T.V. watching the chaos occur in real-time, in my brother's bedroom. I was updating my social media accounts (Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook) with videos and posts about what was happening even before the local news arrived on the premises — it seemed that no one cared about what was going on other than my local neighborhood, and local New York, as my friends from nearby states weren't getting the news, at least not right away.
Although I was safe (thank God!), there were people in my local hospital, members of my community, who were trapped and hiding from an active shooter in a place of care.
Some of my friends who saw my social media posts reached out to me to ask if I was safe — even some of my peers who I didn't even speak to much seemed to be concerned. I was very grateful, and touched, by the responses/messages I received. Even if I wasn't on the premises, my friends knew I lived nearby and were concerned for my safety — even if it wasn't my physical safety. However, even with so much love and concern for my safety coming my way, I was still hurt. I was hurt because some of my friends, who I thought would reach out, didn't. These were people who I loved and thought of as my closest friends who weren't reaching out to me during this time of chaos and fear (although they saw my posts and updates!). Although I was safe (thank God!), there were people in my local hospital, members of my community, who were trapped and hiding from an active shooter in a place of care. The least they could have done was message me, "Are you okay?", "Stay safe", or even, "I heard the news, what's going on?" Messages that I would have sent, and inquiries that I would have had, if they were in a similar situation. Instead, I got nothing.
Now, I don't want to place blame on my friends for not showing empathy or concern when a mass shooting was occurring two blocks away from my home. I do not want to label them "bad people" for not knowing that in this time of crisis, all I wanted to hear from them was, "Are you okay?" This situation, however, made me reflect on some things — specifically social media; the power of social media and how it can dictate human emotion.
Due to social media, we've become so desensitized to horrific news and events that the best we can do is give a 'sad react' to a post and move on with our day.
While scrolling through our social media feeds, we (myself included) all too often scroll past news about horrific events (killings, shootings, rapes, etc.) both locally, nationally, and globally. This sort of news is so prevalent on our social media feeds that we choose to ignore them even when it may be taking place in our local area, or a friend's local area. Due to social media, we've become so desensitized to horrific news and events that the best we can do is give a 'sad react' to a post and move on with our day. Social media has made us desensitized to murder, mass shootings, rape, and war, just to name a few. And when you become desensitized, you stop caring and when you stop caring, you stop taking action.
What if instead of scrolling past that news article or video, we actually click on the link and learn about what's going on in our world?
What if instead of scrolling past that news article or video, we actually click on the link and learn about what's going on in our world? What if instead of not caring, we start to care about others? Because in reality, social media is meant to make it easier for us to connect to others around the world, so we can care more — it exposes us to news and events we'd otherwise be oblivious to, so we can take action and become agents for change — but instead it may be doing the opposite. So you decide, are you going to stop caring and let injustice continue, or are you going to click on that link on Facebook, read up, and take action?
Xo, Naydeline