Sunday, January 23, 2011
Texter Sues
Throughout the past week or so, this YouTube video has circulated through many different forms of mass media. Radio stations, television stations and the Internet are all discussing this woman's fall into a fountain (while texting). After realizing that the video she starred in went viral, this women decided to sue the mall because of her high level of embarrassment.
My first reaction to her lawsuit was disgust. I have daily texting fails (among many other fails) and I would not want them posted over the internet, but I am sure that there are other ways of going about fixing the situation without suing. If you haven't seen it before, Scarlet Takes a Tumble was a much more embarrassing video than the fountain texter's, and I never heard of her suing anyone.
All of this to say, it is amazing to me how much mass media affects our day to day lives. We are surrounded constantly by other people's ideas and actions through books, magazines, radio stations, televisions and the internet. Of course, most people would find this video very comical but it could serve as a warning for future videos that are not very comical. A video on YouTube could ruin somebody's life. Now that a normal computer user can contribute to the mass media (via the internet), all of us should be personally responsible for what we post on this medium.
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Technology's accessibility grants power to anyone in possession of it; however, not all in possession of technology are responsible. People, I think, should not only be personally responsible for the material they post online, but should be considerate of others' reputation.
Technology has vastly influenced society - including the job market and how potential employees are hired. On MSNBC's website, writer Wei Du writes about the hiring process as affected by social media. The article quotes Michael Fertik, CEO of Reputationdefender.com, saying, "Nothing on the Internet is private. Period." According to the article, Reputationdefender.com monitors "Web reputation," and, for a fee, removes unwanted material on the internet "that may have slipped out of the user’s control".
It's interesting to think about, though - if we maintained integrity and responsibility when using the internet, Michael Fertik of Reputationdefender.com wouldn't have a job, would he?
Follow the link to read the full MSNBC article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20202935/ns/business-personal_finance/
It seems almost every day there is someone suing another for a frivolous reason and it too only makes me disgusted. True, there are some things that shouldn't be posted on the internet because once it is there it can never be taken back. Yes, it is embarrassing to fall into a fountain while texting but what are you going to do about it? You can't sue the mall for putting the fountain there. We must all realize our mistakes and learn from them. Next time, don't text and walk at the same time.
Also, if she should sue anybody it should be the person who originally posted the video as they did not expressly ask for her permission to be video taped or to have the video tape open to the public. It is an invasion of privacy rights.
I've always been fascinated by what people are willing to compromise by posting videos and comments on sites such as YouTube. Not only are many people victimized by the content outside parties make available to the Internet community, but many people even post humiliating videos of themselves.
I've seen so many videos of clearly talentless individuals that receive nothing but ridicule in every comment or response. Despite vicious words, they continue just as they have been doing in the past-- embarrassing themselves just to get a greater number of views than "David After Dentist." Given, some of these people really are just confident in their "talents," and their perseverance in the face of such negative feedback is actually admirable.
What is even more surprising is how easily people can use internet communication to criticize others so relentlessly. Strangers are making fun of strangers. I have no clue what could make cyber bullying so easy in comparison to making fun of individuals in person. Perhaps it's the anonymity or even the distance you feel from other individuals on the Internet. The people involved are all still people, which seems to be forgotten more often than not.
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