Officials weigh in on using social media during catastrophic events

UPDATE 2/15/2018 5:20 pm: Countless videos posted on social media are giving us a firsthand account of what happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Wednesday. The chaos and confusion of the school shooting was all captured on cell phone cameras and shared on social media.

We wanted to take a closer look at the use of social media during situations like this. Daniel Lopez, a faculty member at Hartnell College’s Communication Studies Department said it’s never been easier for someone to document and share their lives.

The technology, which used to be camcorders and Polaroid cameras has advanced to cell phones and cameras.

“We get to see firsthand accounts of what’s going on before they’ve been filtered through news media, before narratives have been constructed about what’s going on,” Lopez said. “These are the perspectives who are experiencing them and I think that’s something we don’t always get in past forms of media consumption. Normally things get put through a filter. This is just what we’re getting firsthand. But second, I think it allows people to reach out and form community. School shootings are on the rise but it is still not something a huge segment of the population experiences. So by documenting it, by putting it out there, students are reaching out to other students who might have experienced it. I believe on social media some of it even got responses from other students have experienced this and knew their fear. “

But seeing such violence can desensitize people as well.

Local law enforcement say they want people to be smart about social media. In an active shooter situation, they want people to get away, not get online.

“If someone is Snapchatting or Facebook Live or whatever their favorite social media, they’re focusing on broadcasting on what is going on, they’re not following the first rule, which is to get away,” said Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Commander John Thornburg. “They’re trying to get an exclusive video that they can do whatever they want to do with it. The second thing is, from a law enforcement perspective, it’s live, and it’s unfiltered. It’s anybody that can latch on to that feed can watch it, can see it. From a tactical standpoint, people who are not there, maybe including the suspect can view what’s going on, and maybe the person in this case can see what law enforcement is doing or they’re broadcasting where law enforcement is, it can create some severe tactical disadvantages for law enforcement which impedes them on handling the situation.”

He recommends people to check in on social media to share their stories once they are in a safe location completely out of danger.

“If I heard gunshots, my first instincts would not be to go to Twitter or Snapchat,” said Hartnell student Rudy Regalado. “I really just try to assess the situation and text my mom or dad, just let them know what’s happening.”

ORIGINAL POST: Countless cell phone videos show the carnage of a Florida high school shooting.

Many students shared on social media their account of the shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday.

We wanted to take a closer look at the use of social media during catastrophic situations.

A communications professor at Hartnell College said using social media in these kinds of situations has its pros and cons. While it can connect victims of previous shootings, it also can desensitize the public to violence.

Local law enforcement says people using social media during unsafe situations can actually hinder their operations by tipping off the bad guy of what their movements are.

KION’s Mariana Hicks has more on News Channel 5, 46 at 5 and 6 p.m.