Our Insensitive Youth: Amanda Todd Mocked After Death

“Tough Titty: The Amanda Todd Story” is brought to you by PROZAC, the drug of choice for attention whores” – Claire Myers, Facebook Status.

In recent social media, the story of Amanda Todd has gone viral broadcasting the importance of anti-bullying campaigns and the effects of bullying altogether. As most Facebook users interpret Amanda Todd’s suicide as a tragic event; there is still a small group of people who continue to insult Todd in order to gain acknowledgement or Facebook fame, passing off Todd’s death as a mere joke.

This leaves me thinking: ‘Do I actually live in a society where someone’s misfortunes are seen as opportunities for others to display their humorous characteristics to the world?’ and while dwelling on this question and surfing the internet, I’ve concluded that: ‘yes, I do’.

There seems to be a regular pattern on Facebook where whenever some ‘cause for the greater good’ is posted or gone viral, people must denounce and demoralize it.  It is a cycle that targets all causes and it breaks my heart to see that Todd’s suicide isn’t excluded from its wrath.  Statuses and photo-based memes litter newsfeeds spreading distasteful jokes about her death worldwide and worst of all they are being liked! The fact that people are still making fun of Todd after her death makes it seem as though the bar for moral sensitivity over the internet has lowered by many notches or has just all together disappeared.

But what I believe to be the worst aspect about these Facebook posts is the reason why people do it. For some odd reason being insensitive on the internet is appreciated and those who insult others or stir controversy are praised. People thrive at other’s expenses in order to get likes and comments and are insensitive for others amusement and of course, the quest for self-fame on the internet. It is as though people believe the internet is a safe haven to say these heartless things rather than saying it directly.

It’s sad to say this but I guess I’ll end this article with a small tip regarding safe internet use. If you’re going through a rough time or someone has recently passed away, don’t post it on the internet and if you do… prepare yourself for some backlash. The internet isn't as friendly as you may think.

*Photo's taken from [Controversial Humor] Cell

Responses to editorials

**For my response I'm going to refer to the editorials by numbers so 1is Mastio: Dead bodies demand organic food moratorium by david Mastio and 2 is Karen Levy's "Let's Ask the Right Questions about Organics and Health**

1. What was compelling? Was there a good hook?
I found the first editorial to be more compelling for it automatically grabbed my attention with a good hook mentioning death by eating organic bean sprouts. Meanwhile the second article didn't strike my attention. It had a family oriented hook which I cannot relate to. Mastio's shocked me where as Levy's bored me. 

2. Did the author make concessions? 
3. Is there a one sentence statement of the author's position?
For the second article had a clear one sentence statement where she says that people should eat organic. The first article doesn't have a clear statement 

4. Supporting details, research stats
5. Strong conclusion, recall hook? 
6. Call to action

Response to photo journalism exhibit:

1.      I believe the photographer`s motivation behind the series of the child brides in Yemen is to highlight the age difference between the wives and husbands and to capture the emotions the wives are feeling. The photographs feature young girls who are being married off to older men and the looks on their faces are cheerless. The observer is then able to see that these girls are miserable and do not want to be married.

2.       The protests in Libya were incredibly important events with life altering affects. Having a photojournalist exhibit on the protests was in my opinion vital. With photojournalism pivotal moments are caught on camera and emotions are evoked especially with this series on Libya. I believe that photojournalism will be the predominant form of journalism in the future. This medium has a larger effect on readers for it’s easier to sympathize with a photograph of a person than to read simple words on a page.

3.       Arnanda`s image is extremely emotional as you can see Zayed is in pain as he rests in his mother’s arms. This image shows the after effects of a protest. Typically people focus on what happens in the street but never really focus on what happens afterwards when the protests die down. This picture adequately depicts the aftermath of the protest.

4.       My favourite picture in the exhibit is by Massoud Hossaini where a woman wearing a green veil is screaming as she stands among a circle of dead civilians mainly children. This image was one of the first to catch my eyes mainly for its horrific content. The woman in the photo looks under such distress and the bodies around her are worse. Looking at this picture made me realize that I am not alone in the world and made me more aware of the tragedies that go on in the world.

5.       My favourite series in the exhibit was the one focusing on the crisis in Argentina during the 90’s. I found it interesting because I wrote a research paper on that crisis in high school and it has always been a topic of interest for me. Seeing the images really gave me a new perspective on the issue. Although I had researched it nothing compared to seeing the picture of the skeleton. It really made the issue pop out.

6.       An effective press photo for me has to have impeccable timing. It has to capture the right moment or facial expression that evokes emotion. A good press photo has to have meaning behind it, it has to convey a message that stands out and grabs the reader’s eye.