Microprocessing
Why Do People Film Others in Distress Instead of Helping Them?
It’s not as simple as ‘people are the worst’
The video shows an older man on a New York City subway platform, struggling against a gush of filthy water that has forced him to the ground. Finally, he makes it to his knees and looks directly at the camera, as if in accusation: Why didn’t you help me?
After the clip went viral, people on Twitter wondered the same thing. “Drop the phone and help that man?” one person asked. “We are so much better at documenting the things we might have helped out with instead,” another said. It’s a familiar indictment of the social media age: We’d all rather record a clip for likes than actually do some good in the world. But the knee-jerk reactions to this clip — and plenty like it — may actually have things wrong. (Not for nothing, the clip itself also ends with someone walking toward the man; it’s possible he was ultimately helped.) Research shows the presence of cameras makes people more likely to intervene when they see someone in danger…
