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Does social media distort and alter how people (especially teens) interpret the world?
I received a text from my son late this afternoon that his bicycle chain seized and he hit the road hard with his face. He's lucky he wasn't run over. Doctors said that although his injuries are serious, he's lucky.
Apparently when he still thought it was just a couple of scrapes on his face, he snap-chatted a photo to his 16 year old niece. She snap chatted a photo of her friend. Apparently she perceived that very bloody face as a gag. To give you a sense of what it was, I was taken to the emergency area and around the corner to the garage where he was in a wheelchair. I looked past him a couple of times, carefully looking at the other patients and afraid to look at the unrecognizable bloody mess.
His niece apparently did not even consider the possibility that the photo was of her very injured 22 year old uncle.
I asked her mom what she thought of the shap-chat. Still waiting for an answer. I won't tell my daughter that her brother had a serious bike accident until I know why her daughter perceived those injuries as a gag and did nothing to indicate otherwise ... no phone call of : hey, that's not funny, are you all right. Nothing. She apparently didn't show the photo to her mom, because her mom would have checked.
My question is why does a relatively bright, capable, healthy, well travelled 16 year old not realize that a photo of a relative who kissed the road with his face might need help. Apparently she thought it was a gag, which is possible since they sometimes prank each other.
Did social media cause this otherwise normal child to view a bleeding head as a gag?
Does social media distort and alter how people (especially teens) interpret the world?
I received a text from my son late this afternoon that his bicycle chain seized and he hit the road hard with his face. He's lucky he wasn't run over. Doctors said that although his injuries are serious, he's lucky.
Apparently when he still thought it was just a couple of scrapes on his face, he snap-chatted a photo to his 16 year old niece. She snap chatted a photo of her friend. Apparently she perceived that a very bloody face as a gag. She apparently did not even consider the possibility that the photo was of her very injured 22 year old uncle.
I asked her mom what she thought of the ship-chat. Still waiting for an answer.
My question is why does a relatively bright, capable, healthy, well travelled 16 year old would not realize that a photo of a relative who kissed the road with his face might need help. Apparently she thought it was a gag, which is possible since they sometimes prank each other.
Did social media cause this otherwise normal child to view a bleeding head as a gag?
I once choked on some food. People around me thought it was a gag [no pun intended]. No social media was involved.
My question is why does a relatively bright, capable, healthy, well travelled 16 year old not realize that a photo of a relative who kissed the road with his face might need help. Apparently she thought it was a gag, which is possible since they sometimes prank each other.
Did social media cause this otherwise normal child to view a bleeding head as a gag?
Because he snapchat'd the photo. And... as you said "they sometimes prank each other".
Perhaps your 22-year old son should learn that SnapChat isn't for telling family members "Hey everyone, I am really seriously injured and could use some help right now".
I once choked on some food. People around me thought it was a gag [no pun intended]. No social media was involved.
I don't mean that social media was being used at the time of the event. I mean that social media has desensitized especially teens of very real medical situations. If you were choking and people thought it was a gag, and my son was so bloody he was nearly unrecognizable - sitting stunned in a wheelchair and his niece thought it was a gag ... where does that come from. That's not how people have always been, is it?
I feel almost innately feel compassion when I see injuries, not gag.
Because he snapchat'd the photo. And... as you said "they sometimes prank each other".
Perhaps your 22-year old son should learn that SnapChat isn't for telling family members "Hey everyone, I am really seriously injured and could use some help right now".
Pranking about bleeding on the face ... I get it ... gaming environments treat this as normal. Does exposure to those gaming environments and other social media outlets result in de-sensitivity such that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between prank and reality? What are the repercussions for that error? I don't think I would have made that mistake as a child, nor as an adult, but I might be wrong.
I don't mean that social media was being used at the time of the event. I mean that social media has desensitized especially teens of very real medical situations. If you were choking and people thought it was a gag, and my son was so bloody he was nearly unrecognizable - sitting stunned in a wheelchair and his niece thought it was a gag ... where does that come from. That's not how people have always been, is it?
I feel almost innately feel compassion when I see injuries, not gag.
No this is not a disturbing trend. This is an odd incident that happened in your family.
Pranking about bleeding on the face ... I get it ... gaming environments treat this as normal. Does exposure to those gaming environments and other social media outlets result in de-sensitivity such that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between prank and reality? What are the repercussions for that error? I don't think I would have made that mistake as a child, nor as an adult, but I might be wrong.
Has nothing to do with the content of the Snap. It's literally the use of SnapChat. SnapChat is meant for putting up funny filters for laughs and sharing nudes.
If a family member or friend sent me a friggin' Snap of them bloodied up, I'm going to assume it's makeup. Not that they're having a legitimate medical emergency. It's not that people are desensitized to gore from video games. Heck, my desensitizing came from doing theater arts and makeup artistry. It's the platform.
It's that your son used a non-serious platform to send that photo. Sorry dude. Blame goes on your son for trying to use SnapChat for a serious purpose in sending a message to someone he frequently pranks with.
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