What's with this selfie craze? Outrage after teen takes smiling selfie with car involved in fatal accident - CNET "As WFTS-TV reports, a teen who was a passenger in the Volvo allegedly posted a picture to Instagram. It gravitated to Facebook and elsewhere. It showed him standing by the wreckage of a car with the words: "RIP volv." He was smiling. There was also a smiley emoji and one of a semi." That's just sick!!! Then you have idiots like these: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3244939/More-people-died-taking-selfies-killed-sharks-far-year-people-come-dangerous-way-impress-friends-online.html "And experts believe the rise in selfie-related deaths could be due to the fact people are more willing to put themselves in dangerous situations, such as with animals (bears) or posing from great heights, to impress friends on social media". 'Since the beginning of the year we are talking about some hundred cases of injuries for sure.' Then you have the guys who take selfies with guns, not bothering to check the gun to make sure it is unloaded, so they blow their heads off. You also have people who feel the need to grab sometimes rare species of animals out of their habit, pose with them, then discard their dead bodies afterward. What's with this selfie fascination? This is just crazy!
This is happening in Asia too. Recently, I saw news that a Thai teen killed 9 people while texting & driving. There's a (now) famous photo of her texting next to her wrecked car...after having killed 9 others. Disgusting. Texting Teen’s Family Ordered to Pay 27 Million Baht for Bangkok Tollway Collision | Chiang Rai Times English Language Newspaper
Responded to a train wreck some years ago to find what seemed like the whole neighborhood out videotaping the scene and the four dead bodies. Nobody helping or even crying over the victims, just snapping pics and video. Nothing new or surprising here.
I suspect it is the technology that is changing, not the times. In other words, one technology (smart phones) are showing a huge ego-centric side to some people while another (the internet) is enabling its distribution in order to be put on display for all to see (and for most to be disgusted by). A window into the soul, if you will.
Not just selfies. When we lived in Tennessee 30 years ago, one of the big tourist attractions was the Buford Pusser Death Car Museum, where untold thousands of tourists each year had their picture taken alongside the Corvette in which the crusading sheriff died.
Thank goodness for youthful stupidity. They'd have gotten away with the crash if they hadn't wanted the attention via social media. Gift-wrapped for the police.
I see what you are saying. I guess I am troubled by what I see. I mean, people are more concerned with taking selfies, than they are when it comes to simple courtesies like praying for the dead, or at least observing a moment of silence. I view it as a growing lack of humanity, not only for human life, but all forms of life. I find that highly depressing.