Capturing the moment or trapping the victim?

Daily, your Facebook wall gets at least one video which shows how a person is abused in one way or the other. The world should know the evil which we need to eradicate, and so the video is viral. But does it help?

By Kanika Rangray

New Delhi: There is a video going viral on Facebook which shows a mall toy car operator forcibly kissing a child. In this heart-wrenching video you see the innocent little boy trying with his meagre strength to push away the man as he is crying for help.

What was happening?

Instead of helping the innocent little kid, instead of pulling off the toy car operator from the boy, the person assumed it would be better to make a video of the entire incident and put it on social media. May be it was thought to be the 'right content' to make the video viral.

A simple question, please answer— how did making the video help out the little kid? Will it be able to erase the trauma which might have embedded itself in the innocent's mind? Wouldn't the better option be to go ahead and stop the trauma than to film it?

This is not the first time that such incident has occurred. People prefer to watch from the sidelines, filming the troubles faced by a person, and then brandishing the video around to their friends or on social media, instead of lending a helping hand. All this is done, supposedly, for 'creating awareness' about the issue.

Such an example can be seen almost daily in the Delhi metro. A mother holding her son in her arms tries to de-board the train. But the crowd is least interested in letting her deboard and more interested in getting on to the train. Hence follows a tussle, in which the little kiddo—hardly three or four years of age—gets hurt and starts crying. What happens next? NOTHING! The onlookers take out their mobiles and start filming the incident rather than helping the woman. Isn't it cute to see a kid cry? May be it is!

Again, another example from the Metro—general compartment, man misbehaving with a girl, the other passengers 'ladies included' standby and watch, some make videos, nobody helps.

Whenever such examples of social evils or people's lack of etiquette comes to the front, heaps of comments, ideas, suggestions start pouring in—advising that these social evils can only be stopped when the society changes its mentality.

Well aren't you a part of that society whose mentality—so gallantly said—needs to be changed? Whether you lend a helping hand or take up videography depends on your 'mentality'. As Mahatma Gandhi had once said, "be the change you wish to see in the world."

Think about it. You could save yourself a large amount of candles and numerous candle marches, by acting at the moment rather than protesting later.

At every such incident smartphones come out of your pocket and start filming—your phones are getting smarter, when will you?