There is something deeply unsettling about the world we are becoming. Too often in moments when a person is in clear distress the first reaction is to record and not offering help. A stranger cry for assistance and sometimes people we know but instead of a helping hand they are met with a camera lens people struggling to capture the moment while the victim really depends on their help.
A dangerous situation unfolds and instead of stepping in or calling for aid, bystanders lift their phones as though capturing the moment is more valuable than protecting a life. We must confront this uncomfortable truth. Our instincts are being overridden by the impulse to document. And if we do not correct our course, we risk normalizing a form of apathy disguised as “content creation.”
We have become spectators in our own communities. The pursuit of views, likes and viral moments has begun to overshadow our responsibility to one another as human beings. Recording someone’s suffering makes you a bystander who chose attention over action.
Documentation has its place and its importance. Recording injustices has sparked social change, provided evidence and protected vulnerable people. But that is not what we are talking about here. We are talking about the everyday emergencies where help is what is desperately needed.
A person in need of help does not need audience, hashtags and clips for entertainment all they need is a sense of humanity by helping them if we are in that position.
Human instinct is supposed to push us toward compassion. It is a reflex older than civilization. It enables us to help the injured, comfort the frightened and support the vulnerable. We seem to have muted instincts that determined our humanity in the past. We seem to have decided online validation, detachment and convenience are more important than empathy making it a new normal.
We must reclaim the ability to make the right choice and reclaim the instincts that drove humanity. When someone is in danger or distress, our responsibility is to act, assist and at the very least seek help. It is not to document the moment for others to consume.
