Is This a Case of Life Being Mistaken For Art?

[Interloper]

Okay, so Bill Nye the Science Guy passes out while giving a performance at USC, and none of the students rush to his aid. Instead, they Tweet or text their buddies to tell them that Bill Nye the Science Guy passed out while giving a performance at USC.

What does this signify to y'all? A generation of people who are passive onlookers glued to their hi-tech communications devices, or did they think that Nye's episode was part of the show? Or both?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookou ... -it-happen

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Last night in front of an audience of hundreds at a presentation at the University of Southern California, TV personality Bill Nye — popularly known as the "Science Guy" — collapsed midsentence as he walked toward a podium. Early indications are that Nye is OK, but what's odd about the incident isn't so much Nye's slight health setback as the crowd's reaction. Or, more precisely, its nonreaction, according to several accounts.

It appears that the students in attendance, rather than getting up from their seats to rush to Nye's aid, instead pulled out their mobile devices to post information about Nye's loss of consciousness.

Alastair Fairbanks, a USC senior in attendance for Nye's presentation, told the Los Angeles Times that "nobody went to his aid at the very beginning when he first collapsed — that just perplexed me beyond reason." The student added, "Instead, I saw students texting and updating their Twitter statuses. It was just all a very bizarre evening."

[Rewind: Joe Biden's quick response to onstage fainting]

Indeed, a cursory search on Twitter revealed a virtual play-by-play account of the incident. One student wrote, "Bill Nye tripped on his computer cord while speaking at USC, was out for abt 5 secs, got back up, spoke w/ slurred speech and fainted."

According to the school's student news outlet, the Daily Trojan, Nye asked, "What happened? How long was I out?" when he regained consciousness. Briskly picking up his humorous persona, he added, "Wow, that was crazy. I feel like Lady Gaga or something." Nye's publicity team didn't immediately respond to The Lookout's request for comment on the episode.

[Rewind: NBA coach faints at practice]

Still, in the annals of the digital public's civic indifference, the Nye incident is nowhere near as disturbing as another episode reported in New Orleans earlier this week, which oddly enough also involved a humorist. Anthony Barre, a New Orleans man popular for his acid-tongued comic performances on YouTube using the handle "Messy Mya," was murdered on the streets of the city's 7th Ward — the historically Creole neighborhood chronicled in the HBO series "Treme." As he lay dying, witnesses at the scene took to the Internet to chronicle the tragedy in real time, even posting photos of his body lying in a pool of blood.

Here's how the Times-Picayune's Brendan McCarthy described the incident:


Moments after gunshots roared through the 7th Ward on Sunday night, a lone snapshot appeared on the Internet.


In it, a 22-year-old man is lying cheek to the ground, crimson pooling around his neck. His eyes are closed, his torso curled.


Chaos explodes around him, with the arms of others pressed to the back of his head. And someone is holding a cell phone just inches from his face.


This is how the world learned of Messy Mya's death.

Prior to this week's episodes, perhaps the best-known incident of youthful digital passivity in the face of danger was the September 2007 tasing of University of Florida student Andrew Meyer at a speech delivered by Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry. That episode immortalized the expression "Don't tase me, bro!" The crowd of onlookers trying to capture the encounter on their cellphone cameras later prompted Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert to imagine the internal monologue of a bored-looking kid seated next to Meyer thusly: "He's thinking, 'I wish they'd stop tasing this guy, so I can get home and watch him being tased on YouTube.' "

[internalenthusiast]

i dunno. but i find it a bit disturbing.

i had a colleague who told me he thought the dependence on constant texting, cell phone checking, etc., kept people at a one-step-removed distance from life. i think this may have some truth to it. as i witness lots of people continually "multi-tasking", and not being really present.

i don't have a cell phone (i'm a luddite...and perhaps rebelliously value my privacy), as i don't want to be constantly available. that's just me.

however, obviously i do use the internet, and post on RSF...

my better friends insist on not interrupting our conversations with received cell phone calls, texts, etc. and make a point of checking their appliances at a later time.
seems like general good manners to me.

jeez, i sound like a curmudgeon. but i was drawn to respond to your post.

but at least i think certain things: intense personal conversations, emergencies, love-making (!), etc., shouldn't be mitigated by either giving or receiving communications that interfere with the business at hand.

if a pal of yours was attacked, would you help him out? or text about it?

(not meant as a serious question...just underlining a point.)

[Steve James]

I think ya'll are right about the detachment that seems to be taking place, but I'm not at all sure that pre-cellphone audiences would have reacted more quickly. It seems the event took all of 10 seconds. I think it would take three or four seconds, at least, for the people who could react to do so. Most people don't immediately rush to help because they're confused and are either in denial or shock. People have to be trained to react immediately, and even then they sometimes freeze. Anyway, after some of the audience realized it was serious, they went forward.

But, I also think you're right that the fact people took time to take pictures and make calls says something about our society. I think that for many of our youth, who've grown up on "reality" tv, they expect everything they see to be recorded and shared. Even if it's the most tragic event... for ex., to the question, "if a pal of yours was attacked, would you help him out? or text about it?" the answer for some would be "I'd have someone hold my camera while I kicked the crap out of the guy messing with my boy." Of course, I remember wanting to videotape important events, like graduations, births and birthdays. But, this is different.

[gretel]

i agree it's disturbing. I also agree with Steve that there is a tendency for people to freeze up in such situations. i took a CPR/first aid course recently, and the instructor said that 80% of the students would still not rush to assist someone in a real life situation, even after getting trained. Having said that, I think the possibility of texting instead of running forward gives people a false sense that they are, in fact, doing something.

Aren't martial arts folks training to react quickly and appropriately? I wonder if we would be any better in a real life situation.

gretel

[Steve James]

Wow, this is really a topic to consider seriously. In general, I can't say whether I'd freeze or not. However, I'm not the type to pull out my camera. I don't even remember that my cell phone has a camera, and I don't know how to send pictures in texts, etc. But, the reaction to reach for the camera and keep shooting is something expected of a professional photographer/videographer. If, for example, I did have a camera, and was shooting a car race, I would put the camera down when the interesting stuff happened. My point is that, it seems, more people see themselves as recorders and that their self-importance is linked with the importance of what they see/do/hear/experience. It's as if the idea is to give everyone access to your experience.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

Human nature dictates this behaviour, technology or not.
When people witness traumatic events, they themselves are in fact traumatized.
Barring they are sociopaths, but on some level, that sinks in.

Kind of like when your uncle slaps you and takes your ice cream.
You will never ever forget that uncle. Ever. lol

But many violent acts are witnessed and very few see bystanders rushing to someone's aid.
That's why it is such a great thing when we do see those correct actions, that altruism, bravery, guts and strong sense of compassion.
It's easy to find fear and loathing and it's always been rarer to see an upright society.

[internalenthusiast]

My point is that, it seems, more people see themselves as recorders and that their self-importance is linked with the importance of what they see/do/hear/experience. It's as if the idea is to give everyone access to your experience.

yep. pretty interesting.

i don't know, if this is true, what it means about our society. what is the perception of self? and what's the view of "active agency" versus, "media participant"? what does this have to do with "our sense of self?"

back in the 60's the theater director grotowski made a distinction between "active" and "passive" culture. his distinction had to do with those "making art" and those "observing".

but, presumably we are all creating our own culture...

best...

[fuga]

i don't have a cell phone (i'm a luddite...and perhaps rebelliously value my privacy), as i don't want to be constantly available. that's just me.

You are not alone.

[Steve James]

Ah, seems like another way of saying that the fourth wall has been eliminated ... except that it might be what separates the director from the audience, not just the actor/s.

[GrahamB]

Article is bunk. Read the comments section from people who were actually there.

This screams of link-bait headlines.

[bartekb]

What does this signify to y'all? A generation of people who are passive onlookers glued

Nothing. This is a behaviour known and scientificly tested many times.
Cialdini explains it perfectly in every of his books, the chances that someone reacts are much bigger with less people around as peope dont assume someone else already did something towards the issue.
We live IMHO in quite nice times those days, beeing policed, behaving well and donating to charity. World is doing fine, relax

[Interloper]

Steve,
It's as if the idea is to give everyone access to your experience.That points to narcissism, doncha think? Maybe that's a reflection on the direction some segments of our society have taken.

Graham,
I guess that's what I get for taking the bait. I'm the perfect stooge for Yahoo! "news."

[affa]

[Steve James]

That points to narcissism, doncha think? Maybe that's a reflection on the direction some segments of our society have taken.

Good question. Narcissism is a human quality that's been around for a long time . Narcissus was a warning tale. Ok, we don't tell that type of warning story much anymore, though many of our favorite stories are about narcissistic personalities. I think the difference is in the perception of something (narcissism) becoming the social norm, rather than the exception. Once it becomes the norm for the majority, it will become the culture. You will be strange if you don't think the same way.

It is a change, but only because the means of communication have changed. The word 'paparazzi' comes to mind. "Reality" gives every individual, who desires, the right to become his own paparazzo, able to live vicariously (like the most interesting man in the world) through himself and recording it for (his) posterity.

[qiphlow]