Topic > Bystander Effect: An Impact of Social Media and Education

The media heavily influences the bystander effect and we can analyze it using Max Weber's theory of symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interactionism is human interaction at the micro level. The human individual would be at the center of understanding society since social values ​​are formed by individual interpretation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay People assign different meanings to different things and people and act accordingly. People are heavily involved in social media, their new technology that gives them the ability to share and spread news. It can certainly make us feel like social activists and it might seem that the bystander effect would probably be reduced. (Keshia Badalge, 2017) However, this is not the case. If we see a situation unfolding, what we would quickly do is pull out our cameras and start recording. We may think we're helping, but all we do is stand by and watch. So because of this technology and the development of social media and the urgency we have to post, it's actually dangerous and it's making the bystander effect worse. We can explain this with symbolic interactionism as we interact with others. We do what others do and we look to others to understand what we should do and how to react. Because of social media, the first thing we would do in a negative public situation is pull out our cameras to start recording. Now we naturally symbolize a shocking situation with our camera phones. This is also what most of the people here would do, so we would also like to do the same. Therefore, social media and technology seem to increase the bystander effect as we no longer even want to experience a real moment without our phones whipped out to record everything. So, during an event where there are spectators in a public situation, we are unaware of how to help out, unable to decide whether we should help out due to the number of people busy with recording cell phones, etc. Yes, the impact of the social environment the spectator effect is heavy because from a psychological point of view we know that if there are more people in a certain area, the responsibility of a spectator is distributed equally, in the end no one feels responsible enough to resist whatever is happening. Marx Weber had stated that people distinguish numbers, rationalize (rationalization), and assign different meanings to what they see and observe, which is called symbolic interactionism. We symbolize what we observe and do not get involved in situations because, from our micro-level perspective, we assume that if we were to get involved, we will make situations worse or get into trouble. So, if we see a whole group of the people present in public, we would automatically do the same. We fear getting into trouble or unnecessary problems in our lives, which is why the bystander effect is so common in society. People rationalize because rationalization occurs when social actions are motivated by efficiency or benefit, not by wisdom or emotion. If, for example, a camera is seen by bystanders, it is very likely that someone will be willing to help out in a public situation in front of many other bystanders because they know that if they help and are caught on camera, they will have an advantage. possibility of being rewarded or obtaining benefits. If people don't see how lending a hand during a situation can help them in any way, they wouldn't try to risk their own safety,.