I've heard many persons refer to cellular telephones as the scourge of the 21st century. I remember back in 2001 when my classmate brought his new Nokia to our study room. We were all fascinated by it- cool ringtones (we could even make our own!), 2-coloured screen, games... "Snake! Wicked!" That was the day Digicel opened its doors. And while not many people I knew had rushed the stores on that day to get a phone, the weeks, months and years that followed summoned the end of an era and the beginning a new, techie Jamaica.
Now, when we talk about cell phones, we talk about MP3 playable, 16 million colours on screen, Bluetooth, GPRS, Edge (what the hell is Edge?), memory card slots, and, of course, cameras. As I've come to learn, the real scourge didn't begin back in 2001- it began the first day camera phones hit our market a few years ago.
I've never been a camera phone lover, but soon, I'll be a hater. What's happened since their introduction is that people now feel the need to capture every thing they see, and show the world. Many will remember the case of the 'blowing' Immaculate girl, whose actions were transmitted via Bluetooth to dozens at the Nat'l Stadium, and in no time people in Westmoreland who use lanterns for light could watch the clip on the phones. The video was being sold in Half Way Tree. I'll admit I did see it, though I did not go out of my way to do so.
In the end, seeing it was my choice. But these days the word 'choice' has become relative. Because now there's a coalition consisting of camera phone and digital camera owners who have made it their duty to capture everything and then email it to everyone except maybe the Pope. And the common themes- sex and tragedy. A few months ago I had heated words for a friend of mine who sent me pics from an accident somewhere on the south coast- a man's car ended up under a truck, and the skin on his face pretty much lot its grip. It was not a pleasant sight, nor was it something I wanted or needed to see.
Another friend sent me (fabricated) photos of a UWI guy performing oral sex with another guy. When I scrolled down the email and saw what its content was I asked "Why the hell does she think I wanna see that?" Why do we need to see these things? What pleasure do people get out of other people's pain and embarrassment that would cause them to want everyone on planet Earth to see the pictures they have?
Earlier this week, after another fatal accident, a coworker of mine decided to send pictures he received (the accident happened only hours before) to the entire staff. I wanted to kill him. I was told soon after that a second email had even more graphic images. "I'll mail them to you," she said. "I don't need to see them," I responded. If you tell me the women's head's missing, I won't think you're lying.
The next day pictures circulated of Glenmuir boys in some 'disturbing' sexual dealings with some young girls. Once again, people gathered around computer screens to see them. I don't have a child, so I'm pretty sure I won't see my offspring in the pictures. That's good enough for me.
I wish we could be a bit less human and a bit more compassionate sometimes. As A family mourns the tragic death of a child, thousands of fellow citizens insist on seeing her semi-nude, dismembered body. I wish we weren't this way.
I'm glad your camera works. But unless it's something that concerns me, or you, I really don't have to see what you snapped today.
5 comments:
Seconded wholeheartedly
Nice post. And you do have a damn good point!
I've become quite a snapper myself since purchasing my new camera phone. The things I take are limited to more delightful and personal stuff though, like a video of Mom singing (off-key) and dancing in her kitchen while she whipped up xmas breakfast (priceless!) or my God daughter singing (also off-key) 'Get away from me Satan' and doing the waving away movements (priceless!). Definitely not images I want shared with the world.
Oh, and since I'm a bit of a narcissist, endless mug shots of yours truly :)
Nothing that interest people who're interested in oral skills of a school girl.
Amen brother! When they came on the market I wanted one because I thought of all the funny pictures of goats crossing the road and dogs being chased by cats and butterflies resting on cows... not oral sex surprise or detached body parts... I am sickened by our desensitization to tragedy. In our attempt to capture and share, we glorify and demean.
I don't have a camera phone and I dread getting one lest I fall ill with the same malady.
The one thing I would say is that the advent of cameras/camera phones isn't what has caused this problem. People have always had an unnatural interest in gore, sex and anything 'exciting'.
The desire to revel in these things hasn't really increased. What the cameras have really done is to make it easier to capture images and spread them around....
All that ppl used to do before is TALK about the incident til it was dry and boring.....
How successful the spread is, is determined solely by our reaction to these things when we get them. Do we make sure to view the material? Do we send it along to a few more ppl? Do we just delete the e-mail once we've seen the subject?
What if it were your sister, mother, cousin?
Sugar has it right still... people have always been fascinated with gore and gossip. Just think of how much traffic slows down because of people rubbernecking an accident. I think the movies and the news have so desensitized us over the years that now its entertainment to see someone's brains spilled out onto the road. Its sad but its true.
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