“We see these terrible stories, and they are terrible, and we all immediately wonder, if this were happening to me, would people come to my aid?" one media expert said.
"After the stabbing death last week of 16-year-old Khaseen Morris on Long Island, New York, which other teens watched and filmed, a top elected official in the area appealed to the public for greater compassion.
"I want to plead with all our residents — not just our young people: If you see someone in serious danger, please use your phone to get help — not likes and shares," Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said last week."
Some things never change. The brilliant Phil Ochs condemned social apathy in his 1967 song "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends". Here's a couple of verses for your reading pleasure. Go to YouTube to hear Phil sing it live. You'll be glad you did.
Look outside the window, there's a woman being grabbed
They've dragged her to the bushes and now she's being stabbed
Maybe we should call the cops and try to stop the pain
But Monopoly is so much fun, I'd hate to blow the game
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends.
Sweating in the ghetto with the Panthers and the poor
The rats have joined the babies who are sleeping on the floor
Now wouldn't it be a riot if they really blew their tops?
But they got too much already and besides we got the cops
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends.
Social media is nothing more than LOOK AT ME.
LOOK AT ME, I saw this person getting murdered.
LOOK AT ME, I almost fell off the Grand Canyon.
LOOK AT ME, I saw this girl get raped.
LOOK AT ME........
No thanks..... I prefer NOT to look at you....
A member of my extended family is a social media "maven", no thanks.