I recently read an article on yahoo news about how a Ukraine protester tweeted as she got shot by a sniper rifle. You can read it here! Olesya Zhukovska is a medic in the Ukraine. She’s apolitical and was in the protest to be with the people. The reason for the protest was, the government decided to stop their ties with the EU and instead seek financial help from Russia. The citizens saw this as an outrage and began to protest. Zhukovska was walking around with her friends, but note that she was wearing a white cross symbolizing that she was a medic. The government was targeting any journalist that had press badges and or medic symbols on their clothing. When Zhukovska got shot in the neck, she tweeted ” I’m dying” along with a photo of her bloody neck as she was being moved away.
It’s just insane what people do in situations in like these. I’m talking about, taking out your phone and tweeting something and putting up a photo of yourself when you were just shot in the neck. It just goes to show how connected we really are with social media and how even in the most dire situations we still have time to Tweet, Instagram or even post something up on Facebook. However, in a way it’s amazing how our social need to share everything with everyone virtually drives us to do the craziest thing. Do you think that you would’ve done the same thing and tweeted? Do you think that this is a sign that social media plays a larger role in our lives that we had anticipated and or were aware of?
I think that you make a very valid point regarding how we are so connected to social media and how we have a certain drive to share things – even at death’s door. I personally would not have taken a picture of myself but would have called my loved ones instead. However, although it sounds irrational for her to have posted a picture of herself after getting shot, if her goal was to emphasize and back up the reasons for the protest then I guess it doesn’t seem so weird.
I think sharing our experience and our lives with others on social media has become such an integral part of our lives that we always want to share it with others, even if we are hurt or in danger. I find it odd and a little ridiculous that we find sharing such incidents on social media platforms a priority instead of seeking medical attention first. It’s like when others witness a crime or a fight happening, but they would rather record and share it on social media platforms instead of calling the cops. Maybe it’s the bystander effect of not getting involved or maybe we’re just addicted to sharing with others that we forget our priorities to help ourselves and others first. If I was shot in the neck, I’d be seeking the medical attention that I needed instead of telling the world that I was dying. People’s tweets and comments in response to your “I’m dying” post won’t save your life. You need to save yourself first. You can share with everyone else that you survived after you got some help. Also do you really want your last tweet to be the announcement of your death?