Social Networks and the New Treatment of Domestic Abuse
- In the world of professional sports, particularly the National Football League (NFL), domestic abuse has not always received an appropriate amount of attention. However, this lack of investigation may never occur again following the publication of the most recent incident. In June 2014, former professional running back for the Baltimore Ravens, Ray Rice, attacked his fiancée in a casino elevator. The issue was reported to the NFL and immediately became one of the most polarizing topics in sports throughout the year. Still, very few specifics on the incident were revealed, and Rice was ultimately dealt a mere 2-game suspension for his cruel conduct. Many civilians were outraged by this lax treatment and vocally pushed for a more serious punishment. But their call for justice was only taken seriously after the full videotape of the assault was released by TMZ.com. In the video, Rice can be seen delivering one powerful punch that instantly knocks his fiancée unconscious. Even though the video’s graphic content may make it difficult to watch, it has been shared by millions of viewers all across the world.
- The immediate traveling of the video is a result of the power of social networks. Social networks of all sizes exploded with activism and responses once the video captured headlines. Outraged by the NFL’s minor treatment, people began to emphasize the absurdity of a 2-week suspension by showing the video to friends. Over the course of several weeks, the video dominated major media outlets and could be seen on sites ranging from ESPN to Facebook to CNN. Coming from a site as large as TMZ, the video was instantly entered into numerous different social networks the minute it was posted. Its serious content paired with the push for a more severe treatment resulted in its being shared throughout various networks and across local bridges that transcended state lines. Another interesting issue comes up in the role (or lack of) of strong/weak ties in this situation. People had no concerns about how many mutual friends they had with the person posting the video, but instead cared about helping the cause and aiding that person’s efforts to boost exposure. Consequently, ordinary people from all over the world connected through media to begin having entirely new conversations centered around the issue, ultimately forming numerous new links.
- However, this rapid spread of information was not appreciated by everyone, including the video’s victim, Janay Rice. Once the video had been posted by TMZ and viewed by millions, she took to Instagram to describe the video’s viral status as “a horrible nightmare”. Rice went on to say that she cannot bear that “the pain that the media… has caused” her. She did not choose to share this video, but it still has become available to everyone with a computer. Now the question remains should we watch? In the past several weeks, a number of inappropriate images and videos have been leaked on the web. Internet users have had the option to view nude photos of Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence, a brutal tape of an American journalist being beheaded, as well as footage of a professional football player assaulting his wife. The sad truth may be that the moral question of whether or not we should view these things does not matter in a time where the internet has made everything so pervasive. No matter what it is, everything on the web has the power to go viral; everyday billions of people are sharing content, whether it be photographs of cats or POV footage of shootouts in Afghanistan. The countless links established by this trend will likely never be broken by a question of right and wrong.
On-line Resources:
- http://time.com/3305237/ray-rice-domestic-violence-nfl-fired/
- http://www.tmz.com/videos/0_c5nk3w3n/
- http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11493042/janay-rice-defends-ray-rice-criticizes-media-instagram-post