Trope Workshop:Social Media Before Reason

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This is gonna be a hot topic!

Want to know just how addictive social media can get?  Some people get so immersed in this, they don’t realize – or care – there's a conflict or a fire in the area. For example: a tsunami coming at my house?  Take a picture and put it on Insta!

Social media are commonly used for telling others about what's happening around you.  Not just talking to each other, but to circulate news.  And they can be really fun and addictive… really addictive.

In that vein, there are things that are simply too urgent and dangerous to overlook.  That includes, but isn’t limited to, a crime scene, a fire, or a person in serious distress.  Logically, the first course of action should be to escape or minimize the tragedy.  And yet, some people simply find it interesting to put it on social media first… without regard for anyone’s well being or whether they can help out on the matter in question.

Sure, it’s all newsworthy, but that doesn’t mean you can let tragedy happen to you or others or not prevent it.  In plain English, thanks to its roots in human nature, it’s 100 percent Truth in Television.

While social media have, conversely, been put to legit use in times of crisis, this trope is about when an emergency is happening and the wireless is used inappropriately (for example, ordering a pizza to be delivered to the site of a house fire).

Compare and contrast Intrepid Reporter or Apocalyptic Log.  Related to New Media Are Evil, Everything Is Online, and Bystander Syndrome.  Sub-trope of Skewed Priorities.

Examples: