Part 1: Social Media in Bystander Action – A Help or Hindrance?

Part 2: Positive Bystander Action: What’s at Stake?

Part 3: Positive Bystander Action: What Does It Look Like?

Recently I watched a CNN clip hosted by Don Lemon talking about how social media affects bystander reaction. The two recent examples cited were Bill Nye “the science guy” fainting on stage and Anthony Barre being gunned down on the street in New Orleans. Claims were made that people tweeted about Bill Nye rather than help him and that people posted video of Anthony Barre bleeding on YouTube. The sense I got from this CNN segment was that social media played a role in the irresponsible action or non-action of bystanders in both instances. “Tweet first, act later” was the sub head on the screen. The unfortunate truth is that these two incidents illustrate what often does happen in pubic situations where people fail to act or act in ways that seem irresponsible or without compassion. And it has nothing to do with social media.

Lena West, a social media strategist commenting in the discussion, acknowledged that although there is a bit of a “scooping culture” out there where some people want to be first to “report” a story, that whether a person steps in to help has nothing to do with whether the person had access to twitter or Facebook – that the actions of a few people are not representative of everyone who is active in social media.  I agree. Bystander apathy is an age old problem.

I am reminded of the tragic story of Kitty Genovese from 1965. She was stabbed repeatedly in an incident that lasted 32 minutes and the assailant was able to leave and return 3 times without anyone intervening. There were 38 witnesses. What took so long for anyone to call the police? According to the social/psychological literature there are two main reasons.

• Uncertainty – people don’t know what to do and freeze
• Diffusion of responsibility – assuming someone else will do something

Other factors that get in the way are fear of speaking up – that I might not be seen as one of the “in group” or that I might not know enough and get it wrong, fear of silent disapproval or loss of respect, a wariness of getting in the middle of things or concern about lacking sufficient information.  And depending on a person’s social identity, it may not be safe to speak up or act in public – his/her safety might depend on staying quiet.

So how does social media affect bystander reaction?

Sure there can be negative impacts such as “twitter first, act later” by those who want their moment of fame. And, I suggest there is an important positive role that social media plays. Highlighting incidents such as those cited above provides an opening to raise people’s awareness of bystander moments and educate on options for action. Social media offers an opportunity for people to have access to additional information and insight. For example, in the same interview, West pointed out that based on her research in fact people did step in to help Nye. Quite simply, social media provides the venues for bystanders to take positive action. To speak up. Just like I’m doing here.

Bystander Awareness and Action is an emerging area in the field of Diversity and Inclusion. It is actually a set of skills that can be learned. Like CPR training, we can strengthen our muscle of actively noticing that something inappropriate or wrong is happening and feel confident enough to do something rather than nothing. Something might be as simple as saying “ouch” in a touchy moment. I have been trained as a facilitator of this work through the Center for Gender in Organizations (CGO) at the Simmons School of Management in Boston who developed the training methodology. We teach people how to play a pivotal role in speaking up, how to make room for silenced voices and how to have a positive impact on creating inclusive workplaces, educational systems and communities. I’m sure all of us can think of instances where we’ve witnessed something and not known what to do. I certainly have. What are some of those moments you’ve experienced? What did you do? What did you wish you could have done?

So, thanks to CNN for broadcasting a segment on bystander action and social media, thanks to Lena West for sending out the segment through social media so that I became aware of it, thanks to all the social media platforms that allowed me to research perspectives of what happened in both situations in the CNN segment and for allowing me to offer my perspective along with resources for acting positively rather than apathetically as a bystander.

Is social media a help or a hindrance when it comes to bystander action?

It’s up to you. Let your actions speak. If you’d like to find out how to create a more inclusive environment in your organization or community through the positive actions of bystanders, please contact me.