Cyberspace Behavior When Celebrities Die
I was at my local nail salon when the headlines on television caught everyone’s attention: Michael Jackson passed away. As I sat in my massage chair getting a pedicure, I automatically reached for my phone, but unfortunately had no Internet service in that area. I received texts and made a phone call to a friend, while looking up at the television screen to see the news unfold. Other women around me pulled out their phones to call and text the news at a frantic pace. While the shock was palpable in the salon, I started thinking about what was going on in cyberspace.
While I was not in front of a computer when news of Michael Jackson’s death became public, I knew that the news hit the Internet like a tidal wave—it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out in today’s world. According to CNET News, sites like YouTube, Amazon, Last.fm, Wikipedia , as well as numerous other sites are popular destinations for those wanting a trip down memory lane, access the latest information about the one of the most popular musicians of all time, and purchase his music in droves. It is a sobering and somewhat morbid fact that when a celebrity dies in this day and age, his or her popularity and product sales get significant boosts.
Farrah Fawcett died earlier that day, which had already elicited widespread reactions from people who remember her iconic hairstyle, her brief stint on the famous TV show, “Charlie’s Angels,” and the overall impact she had on women and men in the 1970s and beyond. I when I checked Google News, I noticed a flood of retrospective articles covering both Michael Jackson’s and Farrah Fawcett’s lives and careers, the reasons for their deaths, and some unsavory reports of the “supposed” deaths of Harrison Ford and Jeff Goldblum, of all people. These false reports remind me that the Internet is a haven for rampant gossip and exploitation; none of us should be surprised to hear that email spam exploiting Jackson’s and Fawcett’s deaths have already been sent out to unsuspecting Internet users.
I have never been a big fan of Jackson’s, but when I heard about his death, I remembered the song “Human Nature,” which is my favorite of his from the “Thriller” album. I loved that I could find it on Last.fm and post it on my Facebook profile in minutes. So while there are plenty of morbid curiosity-seekers, spammers, and your garden-variety jerks out there in cyberspace, some of us who are looking for some information and nostalgia, without being a hypocrite. I consider myself one of them.
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Funny, I too was getting a pedicure when I heard the news (‘tis the season, I suppose). The scene in my salon was nearly identical: everyone was frantically texting and browsing to get the latest news (we did have internet connection). Even though there was no tv or radio, we stayed completely in the know.
I was so engrossed in reading and texting that I accidentally walked out, phone in hand, and forgot to pay! Seconds later this woman came chasing me down the street because I was a pedicure thief. I of course quickly righted my wrong, and then went right back to texting all the way home.
while i wasn’r getting a pedicure, i was grateful to find so much information literally at my fingertips.
…”human nature” is my fave, too.