İsmet Yağır Fled104.

04

The Killer Camera: How Much Do We Need To See ?

Media has never been easier to reach. Every article of every newspaper, every movie that was ever filmed,

even those not meant to be seen by a particular age group, is but a click away, and the prevalence of common

technology has the power to highlight every detail in major events such as natural disasters, fires, homicide et

cetera. When such events are videotaped or photographed, it is only a matter of time before it circulates

around the entire internet and/or make headlines; ‘’No wonder they call it a ‘’web’’, nothing can ever get out’’

once said an unfortunate girl who was drugged and molested in a party, the video of which was uploaded to

the internet, causing her to be bullied for it until she committed suicide by jumping off the top of the dorm she

was then accomodating. The horrific incident was also captured by students, and it is not difficult to find it on

the internet still to this day. There was a whole website dedicated to her video, which can still be reached, the

video however was taken down by the government. It wasn’t long before the girl’s father also took his own life.

This is a sad yet critical example of how censorship can ruin people’s lives and heavily scar their families

mentally owing to certain events that are reflected onto the media. Such material arouses curiosity even in

those who cannot withstand the slightest sight of blood and/or gore, due to the fact that this isn’t something

they’d be able to see everyday. Taking into account that one may enter any site even those with age

restrictions by claiming that they are an adult and people, children in particular, being inherently curious, they

are bound to be viewers of such events willingly or unwillingly since internet nor media censorship is

monitored. Content with blood and gore is known to cause anxiety or temporary or permanent post traumatic

stress disorder to develop particularly in sensitive viewers. The consent of the families of the casualty being

filmed is another ethical issue, since nobody would give consent to the last horrifying moments of their loved

ones; nevertheless, they are published. In short, to protect the families of casualties from further damage and

to preserve the mental healths of viewers of media, children in particular, it is better that gruesome photos or

videos of a reported event be censored and monitored. Articles about such events should be reported

meticulously, in boundaries of respect to the casualties and their families. Publishing gory content, disregards

them as human beings.