Real-Time News
This I woke up and did my morning routine as usual. On my short commute to work, I was jolted by the news of what occurred last night in Boston; I was particularly rattled when I heard a MIT officer was dead. With MIT being in Cambridge, I was uneasy just I was when I heard about the bombing on Monday. Up to today, I've only feel those troubled emotions only a few times in my life; thankfully, I've been extremely lucky that no one extremely close has been hurt in each case (including this morning).
Since Monday, we've heard many stories about the Boston bombings and the investigation. We must remember that there is much more going on in this world; though it is hard to look outside of the personal realm in troubling times. There is so much to be said when a tragedy hits close to home but it can't be summed into words that are adequate. In the past week, a fertilizer plant killed 12 people, injured hundreds, and many people are still unaccounted for; in Baghdad, a bomb killed at least 27 people including children and injured many more; on the Pakistan/Iran border, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed at least a dozen people. And there are many more tragedies that will go unheard by the majority of the world.
Another trend with the media and users of the social media is to aggressively attempt to be the first person to report/"break" the news even if it is not confirmed (the most recent being CNN). While it is fantastic that global news can spread throughout social media faster than a rumor at the office, there are significant precautions that should be taken. Incorrect news is the most prevalent of the issues that have come apparent especially with the "race" to be the first person to tell the story; it can often lead to misleading thoughts and stories. Another problem of fast distribution media is the disruption it could cause to those who are trying to solve a case or even give information to the criminals that may result in more deaths. But of course there are powerful benefits to fast media and we saw it this week in the Boston Bombing investigation with the release of videos of the suspects, then later, detailed photos of the suspects and the license plates of the suspects.
While there is some importance in receiving news so quickly, I see it (real-time updates) being too high on the priority scale. In many situations, we can't directly help or affect what is going on. In the present, we are constantly fed news stories and the media is trying to find anything to keep the readers interested (even if it is wrong or completely unrelated). While it is nice to be informed, does it have to be "real-time"? In most cases, I say patience should be applied and get the entire story told correctly. Instead of trying to figure what is going on endlessly (the news media will do that), spend time reading a book, think about work, or socialize with friends and family.