Last Saturday, as a press photographer, I once again witnessed something that worries me very much. The behavior of people with their mobile phone in hand when a serious accident has occurred. While personnel from the air ambulance and ambulances carried out resuscitation attempts on a man after a serious accident, a group of around 30 young people lined up, about 20 meters away. They filmed, laughed, and “stuck” around while drinking soft drinks and eating snacks. I almost thought they were watching a bad action movie, while they were sending snaps to friends about what happened. Was it a cool snap or story? Hmmm, no, absolutely not! I get sick and tired. Minutes before, the motorcyclist had crashed into a pole in Lillesand. All agencies rushed to the scene, but unfortunately life could not be saved. Even though the youths received several messages from me and repeated requests from the police and other adults at the scene to back off and delete the videos, they continued. Some of the young people moved to other places around the accident site to get a better angle of what had tragically happened. I hope that parents, teachers, guardians and other educators have a chat with all young people and teach them about the moral aspect of accidents. Remember that we should be fellow human beings even when someone is at their weakest. This also applies to us adults, because often we are just as heartless and unthoughtful as these young people. We must all walk within ourselves. I sincerely hope that the young people who filmed and got carried away have been taken care of after what they have seen. It is wise to think this through, because you can suddenly find yourself in a situation like this. What do you do when you become a bystander to an accident? I hope the mobile remains in the pocket, if you don’t have to call an emergency number. What is the value of videos like this, really – and what should they be used for? Imagine that you yourself had received a snap or a film showing one of your loved ones about to die. Do you want to share such events with others? How do you think relatives experience this? The images burn in. And imagine if you yourself were unlucky enough to end up in an accident where you were badly injured and perhaps even died. What did you think of those who stood above you and filmed with their mobile phones? I would also like to address an ethical question to the media houses that encourage readers to: “Tip us! Do you have video or photos from the accident? Send it to us!” They are also happy to pay a fee for this, if they use the photos submitted. A recent example is from Adresseavisen in Trondheim, which is certainly not alone in inviting people to do something like this: “Moving to a traffic accident between a scooter and a car”. The newspaper encourages: “Tip us!” With exclamation mark. “Do you have pictures, video or information?” Send to us. Photo: Screenshot from Adresseavisen 29 August at 11:25. This is about it, media. Is this the kind of society we want? Is it okay for the media houses to ask the man in the street to be an outgoing reporter and photographer after such incidents? Good press etiquette and ethics also apply at the scene of the accident, not just after the case has been published or printed. The media is helping to create a culture where it is widely accepted to be outgoing amateur reporters who stick their mobile camera up in all possible misery. What side effects does this have? What about the uncensored photos? Where do they end up, when the media don’t need them, or they are too slow? I posted on Facebook about this on Monday. The post has been shared by several thousand people, and I have received countless comments and messages from committed readers. A woman who lost her mother in a car accident writes: “Afterwards I found out that my nephew had seen a film on Snap of his grandmother being resuscitated. So I just wanted to say that I’m glad someone is bringing this up, because it’s a helluva thing to experience!” Another, who knew the man who died in the motorcycle accident last weekend, writes: “I don’t wish anyone to see their friend die on a snap story. I just want to scream in anger.” An incident leader in the police writes that this is a big problem: “People are often more concerned with filming with their phone than helping, and people generally think little of the offense this can entail for the person being handled by the emergency services.” Another, who works as a paramedic in the ambulance, commented: “Unfortunately, it happens all too often! If someone is picked up by an ambulance due to an accident, if someone has had too much to drink in the city, or if someone has been unlucky enough to break their hip in a fall. Everything clearly classifies for a snap …» The trend I see, after countless years as a freelance journalist and photographer at accident scenes, is striking. The audience is becoming more and more extreme with the camera. When I don’t get to the scene of an accident first, I am often asked by the public if I want pictures of the incident, while the victims are still badly injured. After the boat accident in Arendal. Photo: Olav Svaland After a recent accident in Arendal, where a boat drove straight into a pole, someone asked: “Would you like a picture of the lady who was injured? Her face was split open and she was bleeding profusely!” And another: “Here is a picture of the boat. It looked like a slaughterhouse!” Of course I declined. No readers should see this. No relatives or those who survived the accident either. Such images only have the value of shame. To the editors around the country, to front managers and news editors. I would like to ask you to spend time at the morning meeting and make some assessments again. How about asking the questions: Will you continue to encourage people to put a camera forward in events where people experience the crisis of their lives? How do those who see a failed revival deal with this? Amateur photographers do not get the same debriefing that professionals automatically get afterwards. Frankly, I think you should stop encouraging people and paying someone who doesn’t see their own limitations – and who might have a traumatic experience after earning a mere thousand. What drives us to do this? We have created a culture of sharing that can cause trauma. Also read:
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Image at any price – Expression
