Photos of gang rape go viral on Facebook

Woah, woah, woah… hold on there. No charges have been laid since the incident? I hope that’s completely changed by now.

This article was published by the Globe and Mail (taken from the Canadian Press) and here is a quick summary. At a rave near Vancouver, BC, a 16-year old girl was drugged and gang-raped by multiple men. It is believed she was drugged by Rohypnol and the common street name for that is ‘roofies’ or the ‘date-rape drug.’

But that’s not the worst of it. While the girl was being sexually assaulted, onlookers snapped photos and recorded videos – doing nothing to help the girl.

These photos and videos eventually made their way on to Facebook, the world’s largest social networking website, and have since been redistributed all over the Internet.

‘Disgusting’

This is just absolutely disgusting. I am appalled by the onlookers who did nothing to help the girl while she was being sexually assaulted. I mean, where’s the decency and morality gone?

And to post the sexual assault on Facebook? Please. All those who are involved in that act should be charged with distributing child pornography.

The RCMP should get Facebook to help them to remove the photos from user’s profiles. Facebook’s rules clearly state that nudity, sexual activity and child pornography is not allowed and will result in a user’s profile to be terminated.

Then again, it is obvious that Facebook’s rules are breached not only be users, but by Facebook itself. Moderation of over 500 million profiles isn’t an easy task.

Education

It’s great to see that the RCMP are educating young men and boys about sexual consent. Efforts like this can keep sexual assaults and gang-rapes from soaring with the availability of the date-rape drug on the street as it is.

Education is key, the next step is prosecution. Those involved in horrendous sexual assaults such as this should be punished by the full force of the law – minor or not.

To read the article by The Globe and Mail, click here.

Surveillance and Sousveillance: Citizen journalism meets the Panopticon Pt.1

The Panopticon is an idea of constant surveillance invented by philosopher Jeremy Bentham. Now, assuming that you already know what the Panopticon is, I just want to say that it is ingenious. The Panopticon reminds me of the world as it is and as it is transforming with constant surveillance.

The theory of a Panopticon if you visualize it is a 360 degree prison with a watchtower smack in the center of it. In this watch tower, the authorities are constantly watching the prisoners in their cells – making the prisoners think that they are always being watched with every move they make.

The prisoners are made extremely visible; so much so that there is a light at the back of their prison cell to make them more visible to the authority in the watchtower. The idea is that if the prisoners are visible, they cannot hide and will always feel as if they are being watched at all times. This will eventually alter a prisoners behaviour towards following the rules.

However, the prisoners cannot be made aware that they are being watched, but rather know that they can be watched at any time, which in turn will alter their behaviours and attitudes. In the world today, there are cameras and motion detectors just about anywhere. They are always watching us and always altering our behaviour.

For example, if we ever thought to do a little shoplifting we would do it (if we were immoral that is) unless, there was someone watching us. Most convenience stores have security cameras that record everything that happens, and if someone was to shoplift their face would be caught in the recording and they would be reprimanded for their crime.

It really makes me think and say, “Wow, because of enhanced technology we are less inclined to do what we want in the face of consequences.”

Journalism, citizenship, and digital culture

A liquid is something that is always changing. It adapts to any shape or form that is necessary whether it be in a cup, a plastic container or a goldfish bowl. So what is a liquid modern society?

In the same way a liquid is always changing, a liquid modern society is also changing. Society has never been constant and has always been advancing throughout time. Some have become bigger and better, and some have been left in the past. Much of this is due to technology and how fast it evolves. For example, by the time someone buys their brand new laptop, in the next year there will be something three times as better.

However, the fundamental thing about technology is: do we understand what it means? Do we understand how Facebook or Twitter impacts society before something bigger and better comes along? Or how it may personally impact our life?

In Mark Deuze’s article: Journalism, citizenship, and digital culture, he discusses media culture taking over everyday life; almost invading it. “…media have come to be integrated into every aspect of peoples’ daily lives, particularly facilitated by the worldwide proliferation of the Internet and similar services that connect subscribers to a global, always on, digital information and communication network.” (Deuze pg.18). It’s true. I can’t deny that as I am part of the generation that allows media culture to dictate some of my online life.

We post things on Facebook without realizing the consequences. Pictures from our bar nights, our mother’s birthday party or even photos from our childhood memories. We are stuck in the notion that we must update our online lives constantly. Does everyone on Facebook want to know what we do on our Friday nights? I think not.

Citizen journalism and gatekeeping

Due to the emergence of the Internet, it has changed a lot of what journalism has been and what journalism is now becoming. Most of all, it is creating a power shift between the professional journalists we know – those who write for newspapers, magazines or work in broadcast – and between regular average day citizens of the world.

With the Internet being as broad and accessible as it is, it has allowed people to become their own journalists. For example, you or I could take any local news even that we know, get quotes from eye witnesses, and create a factual news story and publish it on our blogs or websites.

However, publishing news stories does not necessarily make us journalists.

In terms of Internet gatekeeping, the Internet has given the power to citizen journalists to keep a watch on mainstream journalism. Due to media conglomerates and corporations owning these conglomerates, the agendas of organizations and need for profit has grown extensively, while paralleling the level of bias and spin in the news.

Citizen journalists now have the opportunity to take the mainstream news and say, “This is wrong. This is not how the news happened.” This eventually gives the citizen journalist the drive to portray the news as it happened and so blogs have overwhelmingly taken over as the news source for many people.

Why? Because blogs are usually unbiased, have thought provoking content, and give readers the ability to give comment and criticism from the comfort of their own home. An addition to that is that bloggers listen to their own fellow community and like to be kept in check. Media conglomerates otherwise don’t care. They’re too big to listen to the little guy.

Although citizen journalists can never be professionals – and as such, they can never have legitimate credibility – they can keep a watch on the mainstream news. Citizen journalists can hold a share on gatekeeping to make sure the media is doing their job.