 |
| Kobe Bryant and his family when his numbers were retired at Staples Center. |
If you were devastated after hearing the terrible news of the passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi, along with 7 other victims who were with them, then you are not alone.
If you took the time to post or write a tribute to Kobe Bryant on a social media platform, then you are also not alone.
It is amazing how social media can help to deliver messages to those we don’t even know. Shannon Vallor reflects on the role that technology plays in human communication and the aim to make human activity easier, less risky, and immediately satisfying. Within human interaction, there lies these virtues that are mainly based on physical human-to-human interaction. Though with the help of social networking technologies, are we able to develop these virtues more quickly and easily? We can look at the example of the virtue empathy.
Empathy is the ability to feel with and for others, which is considered to be one of the most difficult virtues to develop. A version of empathy can be expressed by being physically present for a grieving friend, especially when words seem to not be enough to console. Not having a mediator in comforting our friend’s pain may make us uncomfortable, but it would deepen character and moral perception. Now is this act of empathy possible through social networking communication? Or does the absence of a physical interaction prevent it from being genuine?
After hearing the devastating news of the 9 victims on January 26, including the basketball legend Kobe Bryant with his daughter Gigi, the world took it to the digital world to express their sorrows and compassion to those affected. It didn’t matter if you knew Kobe Bryant personally or not. If you were impacted by his sudden death, there was a community available online to empathize with you. The Internet created this opportunity to experience empathy. Either you sent your condolences out to the families that were affected, or you were receiving comfort from those who were grieving with you.
Through this experience, we can see that it is much easier to express empathy through social networking platforms. From this observation, we now need to learn how empathy along with other virtues can be built upon to accommodate the change of human communication from physical to digital.
Hey Ha-Eun, awesome take on the value/virtue system that should be taken into account for technology. Grief is an emotion that can be very intense and social media being used as a platform for collective grief to commemorate a legend is definitely a perk of technology that we have neglected (possibly because of internet trolls and our instinctive process of looking away from negative things). This was an apt, heartwarming take on how we should remember that despite the various evils of technology, we should still look towards the bright side. Perhaps an additional pointer to be made (despite the word limit), could be spent discussing what kinds of values are embedded in the social media we so commonly frequent. Attention-seeking is usually given a negative connotation but perhaps in moments of extreme sadness, it is precisely what we need the most as social creatures.
ReplyDeleteUsing people posting about Kobe's death was a great idea to better exemplify Vallor's ideas and I think you did a great job describing just what separates these displays of grief from physical reactions and how this is not necessarily all good or all bad. Another reading that you could have perhaps included to strengthen your argument is Floridi when he discusses the frictionless infosphere and how the transfer of information (perhaps even the ability to relay emotions such as grief) has become easier in the age of the internet.
ReplyDeleteHi Ha-Eun!
ReplyDeleteFirst of, I really liked the fact that you chose to write about Kobe's incident and how it could totally relate to what we're learning. You also did a great job on explaining your point of view on the topic. However, I think you should include examples from the readings to make support your argument. Or, maybe add another image that shows messages from people all over the world to Kobe and his family.
I was a huge Kobe Bryant fan growing up, so this piece really resonates with me. I think the interesting thing to think about here with the digital world of empathy, is also the side that lacks it. While the news of this horrendous incident was coming out slowly, you saw this rush for commentary and headlines that felt the opposite of empathetic at times. You start to realize that there are no bounds, and the internet is the Wild Wild West. Every news agency, and media figure was rushing to reveal details, true or false, in the name of clicks on social media. However there was an overwhelming amount of people who were affected by these deaths, and once the actual race for details was over, the response online was amazing. I never thought I’d ever feel as bad as I did over a celebrity's death, but this one was different. It was great to see the online community come together and share their feelings in unison.
ReplyDeleteI was really shocked when this event happened, so I appreciate that you made a post to remember Kobe. I think you should add connections to the reading to help bolster your point, and add quotes to show how they connect to the tragic event of Kobe's death. I also think that your conclusion is too general, and that to improve it, maybe detail out concrete ideas to help empathy as an example, or list which other values need to be built upon.
ReplyDeleteHi Ha-Eun! I found out about Kobe Bryant's tragic passing first from social media. Its very interesting to see digital platforms as a way for people to express grief and empathy. I really liked the way you tied values and virtues into technology, and how the online community joined together to honor Kobe and his legacy. To improve, I would suggest incorporating some of the readings into your post, I feel that would really strengthen your arguments and make it an even better post!
ReplyDelete