Are We Distracting Ourselves to Death?
Publication Date
July 2016
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
Not long ago, my community lost a beloved young member because of his repeated trespassing onto a dangerous train trestle to take selfies. He posted them with the hashtag #liveauthentic. His last time there, he died while trying to outrun the train. (People take such extraordinary measures to get selfies that so-called “selfie-related deaths” are a global phenomenon. Wikipedia now keeps a tally.) For him and for many others, capturing an experience with a photo, video, tweet, or blog post can hold more importance than the actual experience and reflects a phenomenon that the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard called the hyperreal.
Recommended Citation
Prior, Karen, "Are We Distracting Ourselves to Death?" (2016). Faculty Publications and Presentations. 93.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/eml_fac_pubs/93
Comments
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