The tragic incident in Frankfurt has shown that most of the users of Social media are still critical, says the würzburg media psychologist Frank Schwab. This is a Chance for the professional media.
Strong reactions of the Public after the killing of an eight-year-old boy in Frankfurt.
Mr Schwab, on Monday there was in Frankfurt a dramatic killing case. A man had pushed a child and his mother, before a break-in at the end of the railway. The child was killed. This event has provoked a strong Echo both in the classical as well as in Social media. Why has ruled the Public on this case so if you react to other homicide offences are usually less excited?
Frank Schwab: First of all, is something very, very rare. This is particularly dramatic because of the combination of mother and child. On children, we always react very sensitively, because they are vulnerable and innocent. If a child comes to death the is always is particularly dramatic.
Now this is no accident, no natural disaster, where the polluter is not dingbar, but there is clearly a culprit, a man who has done this. To make matters worse, you couldn’t imagine what their motivation could cause someone to do something. In addition, we learn relatively early on that the perpetrators say, how we psychologists – from the “Outgroup” is. He is “not one of us” but “someone else’s”. Since it then reacts immediately with rejection and horror.
More: comment: “Please let it be no foreigners have been”
Media psychologist Frank Schwab: “The users are familiar with the filter bubble you’re in.”
What is the role of the speed of the spread in Social media?
Which has a relatively high news value. It is relevant, because we can put us all in the parents role. Everyone is affected, because it can happen to anyone. It is a dramatic, anti-social and malicious event that is spreading very quickly. As in the case of the breast-feeding Post be quickly developed additional things that push the message in a certain direction, or distort.
Because we are all at some point on the platform, it can also refer to every to. That was the fall of the Berlin U-Bahn Representative as a man, a woman is suddenly kicked in the back. She fell down the stairs. That creates this feeling: I am not sure myself?
Everyone could be a victim, and we can’t avoid it also. In the other calamities, it is not often that strategies so that it takes place in a self. Here, you can not avoid it, unless you drive at all more train. It is so difficult to work around that somehow.
More: comment: What is the role of the origin of a perpetrator?
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Uncertainty in train stations
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Travel time: the uncertainty after the train station murders
Earlier it would have been in the traditional media again a pause for breath, before the message is disseminated. With Social media, everyone is practically from the start, without it being channeled by an editorial team.
We know from the news, research that also earlier, long before there was Social media – led crisis reporting is always that came to the wrong messages. So the traditional media have reacted at that time: much slower, and level-headed. But they, too, have responded to the tragic errors have been reported, and only gradually corrected.
Today, the Situation is a bit heated, because the Social media get started immediately and without the Expertise of easy statements in the world of trombones, the spare is then any Research. Good rules, like: You need two sources, or you have to make sure again, not to be observed. The public-law media to want to be under pressure to keep up or because you feel obligated to do the same. As a result, the risk is even higher that the one or the other, hasty message finds its way.
In the media, in the non-compete may have to ask for the criticism to be implausible, or to conceal something…
Then you immediately get the claim that they are “lying press” or “media system”. You don’t want to speak for any imputed political reasons. Also conspiracy theory-like claims to be loud, you should not report.
We’re all only readers, but many people participate on Social media to the discourse, to be publicists. What actually leads people to speak of things of which you are actually have to do quite far away, with whom you are nothing?
There is not only a motive. So you can say: “these are all little narcissists looking for their stage and want to play.” Many of you have your group, your Community, your filter bubble, in which you move. And because these people are the ones who know so little always and have an opinion, you can warn others. They’re practically the same show the obligation that you are well versed. Thus, you gain Reputation. The pay in the self-regulation. Many are really affected and concerned to find a method, with their Fears and their shock-oriented approach to deal.
In the case of major accidents, there are often expressions of Compassion. Then, when everyone is saying how horrible you find it, you don’t want to stand back and say: “I don’t think it is entirely bad”, so that it comes across as a hard block that shows no pity. So there are very different motives why they are doing it. Of course there are also people who need it for their motives, and then say: “I’ve always had something against foreigners or Strangers”. This is water on their mills, to exploit it, and then operate a corresponding political communication in their minds.
More: German train stations safe?
There are but expressions of sincere condolences. The Good from their point of view something?
Our society has shrunk to a digital village. We feel today for the things in charge of and responsible on the front of a few Hundred years ago, nobody would have made. On the one hand, the message would not arrive, on the other hand, we would not have expanded at that time, our empathy, and competence so far. That we worry about in the world today and care about, are the media to blame. This is an advantage of the digital world. The disadvantage is that voices come to word, who have always seen the Evil in people, especially strangers. We are inclined as a people, because only very few note people irritate excluded groups, to defame and to say: “We are better. We are the Good and the Evil.” This tendency in us to jump in such situations relatively quickly.
Is the rooted in our biology? We all have in us?
In addition, the research argues very vigorously. I would say: the fact that everything is going so fast, we have at least an inclination. We are not condemned. It is not a determinism. But we all tend to open up due to small reference stimuli groups, and to react violently to foreign groups.
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Inevitable: How to filter bubbles?
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Inevitable: How to filter bubbles?
This can happen to me just like you?
Yes, Yes, it goes very quickly. We just have to say: This is the group Red and this is the group of Green and people start to think: “We are here, the Green, the Red. There’s something wrong with them, maybe.” The need to not be biological characteristics. You can establish by small characteristics, group differences, and then very quickly adverse thoughts and feelings to trigger.
Is the applied in evolutionary biology?
It is a difficult issue: We can’t time travel. But we know that our closest Relatives, the apes, are always friendly. They are also quite warlike on the way and a very strong and unpleasant history of violence against other groups. In this respect, we certainly have a heritage of group conflicts, from which one can suspect that it also has biological interests. This does not mean that we are to the delivered or that would be good or natural. But we need to understand the mechanisms and handling.
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Social media addictive?
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Social media addictive?
As Homo sapiens, we at least have the claim to be reasonable. We also want to learn. What can we so, as a media consumer but also as a Social Media publicists to learn?
Prudence is important. We know from the research that the answers you get from people on certain issues, be differentiated and reflected, if you have a bit more time. Social Media operators should, therefore, more time: Again against research and with someone to discuss before you post something: a Four-eyes-principle. This is better, as if one is ashamed for it afterwards, to have anything fast posted.
But we must also say: In Frankfurt was handled very sensitively with the topic. Place the cooked high. There were also no major malicious incidents. A majority of people behave quite morally sensitive.
The time reflection of the nature of Social media speaks in turn. This would then also mean: Social media, transport, inevitably, more emotional content.
We say, as emotion researchers would be: “The Emotion is a delay”. Before I directly fleeing or attacking, we, as humans, have the emotional appeal. The top is gone, a Whisper in us that says: “run time dear!” or “get out of there again!” We don’t have to. We have to consider the time and act intelligently. To have emotions is a prerequisite to the act later intelligent and is reflected. Emotion is a Moratorium on more rational.
Of course, the Social media are clocked faster. But there’s also the Chance of the professional media to say: Since we do not make, but provide a quote, the user can be sure that it is well researched, the reality corresponds to and is professionally made. We know from the research that a lot of people attention in the event of crises in the professional media, expert information, and not immediately in your filter bubble dive.
So there is also a distrust of the bubble?
The people already know what they are doing and are also critical.
Frank Schwab has been teaching and researching since 2010 on media psychology at the University of Würzburg at the interdisciplinary Institute for human Computer media. In particular, evolutions of interest to him – and emotion-psychological aspects of mass and individual media. So he and his Team investigate psychological mechanisms of media selection and media usage, as well as the bio-psychological foundations of media use motives.
The Interview was conducted by Fabian Schmidt
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