The media has always had an obsession with horrific news, like some badge of honor: 'Look at me, I was the first to break-news about a school massacre'. After all these years, we still haven't realized that sensationalism feeds acts of crime. Imagine a day when the media actually gives us solutions to prevent a tragedy, rather than that famous line: 'we were first on the scene'. To add injury to insult, they wheel out their experts to provide us with in-depth analysis. This turns into a competition of who gets the most air time, which in turn leads to a lucrative media career for the analyst.
Sadly, now everyone is joining in on the act. Advertising your 'tragedy credentials' on social media has become an ugly past-time. I kid you not, there is an army of human vultures waiting for evil to play its part. As soon as tragedy strikes, they pounce and dissect every angle, till they get their end result: glorifying the evil-doer and discarding the victim. It gets worse, we then scramble to see the latest cruel acts online, all the while stroking the ego of the perpetrator. They will watch the viewing total go up and feel vindicated for their actions.
The media will always be the first to high-five itself at the sight of a car crash, however there's no need for the rest of society to join in. I get that sharing abhorrent crimes with friends is considered a healthy brain exercise (note to aliens: we humans are advanced), but you are knowingly participating in what the media does best - being accomplices in the notoriety of criminals. The victims don't deserve to be treated like a commodity, in our ever-growing appetite to make ourselves feel warm and fuzzy.
