First

  A few days ago my nephew was in a car accident. A bad one. While he has a long road to recovery in front of him, there is, thankfully, a road. Two other people were not so fortunate. As my family deals with the on-going struggle ahead of him, our thoughts and prayers are with those other two families who are dealing with the unthinkable. There are no words.

  But today I'm angry at the insensitivity of people and their use of social media to be "first". When I was a kid my Mom would call my aunt, who lived a few kilometers down the road, when an ambulance went by with lights flashing and sirens blaring. They could figure out where it was depending on whether it passed her house or not. She, in turn, would call her sister who lived farther down the road. They did this out of concern for family and friends who lived in between. It took quite a while to narrow the location down. Not anymore.

  Now everyone has a cell phone. People drive past accidents or ambulances and take pictures and video. And with the invention of mobile data, those same images are on social media in seconds. Sometimes even before rescue teams arrive on the scene. People seem to feel the need to document what is happening not actually helping the situation. Is this what we have become?

  A man famously videoed a woman being swept down a raging flood. He made no attempt to assist her. Just taped her fear, helplessness, and screams. Did he call 911? Nope, his phone was busy documenting it. Did he try to reassure her in any way? Nope that would ruin the audio. Did he put down the phone and try to save her? Nope he was too busy. Fortunately, there were people farther down the river who were real human beings and saved her. He did not video that though....not dramatic enough I suppose.

  So this brings me back to the car accident on Sunday evening involving my nephew. There was a young girl involved. Her parents were made aware of the accident and their child's involvement in it on Facebook! OMG! Someone posted info about it, and who was involved, on social media. They then got in their car and arrived on the scene to see if it actually was true. Can you imagine their terror during that drive? Or the horror when they arrived? It's unfathomable.

  Whoever this person was who posted the info wanted to be "first". To have people think "wow they are in the know". But what people really think is "you are an ass". Plain and simple. Who are you to spread unverified information and potentially devastate people's lives? What is missing in your life that you think this is okay? Where is your empathy? Your decency? Your humanity?

  If you are one of those people who need to be "first"...grow up. Think about the families and friends before you post something. Put yourself in their shoes. Would you want to be told about a devastating situation on social media or from the mouth of a loved one? 

  In the age of social media, we need to use it as it was intended...to keep in touch with friends, family, and people with shared interests. Not to show how disrespectful and nasty we really are.

  And