discussion go on.
We've had this conversation on this list before, last year when a
vlogger faked having his kids taken away for something in his vlog.
Now, as then, and as with every other fake emotional manipulation in
the blogosphere, I am not amused by it.
There is an assumed "contract" between the blogger and the audience
that what's there is in some way or another real. This is especially
true in video, which is easy to manipulate but seems so real.
When a blog is fiction, it's best to identify it as such. Somewhere,
somehow, even if it's subtle.
More importantly is when a blog blurs the line between fiction and
non-fiction. For instance, when Kevin uses his real name but vlogs his
fake death. That's.... not right, somehow.
You are fascinated by the reactions because you were not manipulated.
Kevin is your student and you know he's okay.
I have stopped counting the number of times someone I "know" online
(or someone they know and they forward the information) has:
1) Died unexpectedly
2) Contracted a terrible illness
3) Needed financial assistance for an abused pet
4) Been abused
5) Had a pregnancy/baby
All of which, it turned out, never happened.
What seems to happen is this:
1) The person posts some announcement of the terrible thing, either as
themselves or using an assumed identity. Various facts and "proof" are
offered.
2) The audience or community responds with a show of emotional
support, grief, concern, and/or money or cards.
3) One or two people in the community respond with "Um.... this doesn't add up."
4) The rest of the community attacks the skeptic, often viciously.
[Fortunately this didn't happen here, which is a real testament to the
caliber of the vlogging community.]
5) The truth is revealed, the person never existed, the death was a
hoax, there was no baby, etc. Jen, thank you for making this step
happen VERY quickly-- the longer the suspense goes on, the worse it
gets. Hopefully nobody had the opportunity to lose sleep over this.
6) The rest of the community splits between "You should be ashamed for
manipulating us!" and "you should all be ashamed for attacking the
skeptic!" (even though they did nothing to defend the skeptic,
either).
7) [Optional] The perpetrator tries to defend himself/herself with "It
was a joke," or "It was an experiment." My favorite is "it was an
experiment" because it's a completely unethical method of human
experimentation, and really obviously a cop-out from the backlash
against manipulating people.
8) Next time, all those people will be more skeptical of "OMG, he's
DEAD!" posts. Eventually, we will all be too jaded and skeptical to
continue to see each other as real human beings. Then, we'll fake our
own deaths/illnesses/pregnancies, because it doesn't really matter if
we hurt a couple hundred people-- they weren't real anyway.
Now, obviously these don't all relate to this particular case. But one
might ask: has Kevin never been in an online community before? Does he
not know about this kind of BS and how little it's appreciated or
tolerated on the net? And are we seriously still "exploring" this as
if it were somehow new? This isn't new-- people have been pulling this
crap since the first time two modems resolved their connection.
--Stephanie
[I've decided nobody online actually dies, because every time it
happens, it's a stupid f'ing joke.]
On 4/24/06, Jen Simmons <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I'm wondering whether to chime in now, or wait and watch this
> discussion go for a while more. I find it fascinating.
>
> Kevin is fine and well. Probably tired and overwhelmed since it's the
> end of the semester, but he's otherwise perfectly fine. I just saw him
> this afternoon in class.
--
Stephanie Bryant
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Blogs, vlogs, and audioblogs at:
http://www.mortaine.com/blogs
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