Well I can't say I'm 100% certain what I'm even supposed to be doing but then again I can't help but feel that is the point. So here is my proposal:
A study of empathy in our society and how it is affected by media. Over the course of this week I hope to crystallize that a bit more and find a more specific angle on it, like "what can be done?" That sort of thing.
A couple of nights ago there was this shooting at a night club in Orlando and like the Paris attacks and this rapist at Stanford, social media is buzzing. It's amazing to be reminded that everyone has opinions and feeling on just about everything. Everyone wants to put in their two cents. Are these opinions unique? Is everyone tapped in an ever increasing echo chamber? Are people's points of view being leveled out to conform and belong?
My main concern is people on social media seem to feel obligated to express sympathy for a tragedy before knowing much about it. All they need are the basic words SHOOTING, RAPE, TERRORIST, OUTRAGE! And then they see their friends posting paragraphs about it and often times their own personal connection (arguably taking attention off of said tragedy and on to them "what about ME?") By following the fold do we rob ourselves of the ability to develop individual feelings? Just like language is so pervasive we literally cannot think without it, is our media and technology furthering a preoccupation with how we are perceived by others? Is this good or bad? Who knows? I'm gunna find out with this project. It'll be fun. Hopefully I'm on the right track.