In the wake the devastating school shooting in Parkland Florida, are we obligated to report threatening behavior?
A recent article from Lifewire outlines some of the great benefits of social media such as the ability to connect to other people all over the world, easy and instant communication, real-time news and information discovery, great opportunities for business owners, and general fun and enjoyment, but what should we do when we witness threatening behavior? (Moreau, 2018).
Regardless on where you stand on raising the age to purchase a gun, the banning of assault style guns, banning of bump stocks, keeping weapons out of the hands of the mentally ill, arming teachers, intervention programs, and increased school security, there is one thing we can all take a common sense approach to, reporting threatening and dangerous social media posts to the police. Ideas to solutions to school shootings from “how might we” questions are literally endless. The real success in stopping this senseless violence starts with each of us as members on online communities. Years ago, no one envisioned that people would be callous and daring enough to post literal death threats and promises of mass shootings in an online public forum, but it happens and we each have a duty to step up and report these dangerous threats when we see them.
According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, a video of Cruz cutting his arm posted to the social media network Snapchat in September 2016 raised concerns among law enforcement and at the Florida Department of Children and Families (McMahon, 2018). A the end of the day, Nicolas Cruz is to blame for the horrific murder of the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The officials failed to see the warning signs and intervene before it was too late, but that should not stop the users of social media from being obligated to report this type of activity.
According to Sgt. Gary Mason of the Overland Park Police department, “”Anything you think that should be followed up, that you’re worried about, we should know about”(McKenzie, 2018). Users of social media can and should confidentially report things that concern you to any local police department or dial 911.
Types of behavior you should consider reporting:
- Self-unjurious behavior such as cutting, dangerous consumption levels of drugs or alcohol, suicidal threats
- Dangerous/Threatening behavior such as stalking, obsession with deadly weapons, threats to use dangerous weapons, homicidal threats, bomb threats, kidnapping threats, criminal behavior, radical racial violence
- Unusual behavior such as significant changes in personality, unexplainable extreme shifts in mood, displays of extreme hopelessness
Social media is a great method for connecting with friends, learning new things, expanding your horizons, living news in the moment, networking professionally, increasing your brand’s awareness, increasing customer loyalty, offering deals, building communities, but at the end of the day, we are all responsible for reporting dangerous behavior that would harm others. If you see something that is questionable, use your best judgement, but if in doubt it’s better to over report something than to let a potentially dangerous situation fall through the cracks.
References:
Moreau, E. (2018, February 14). The Good and the Bad About Social Networking. Retrieved February 23, 2018, from https://www.lifewire.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-social-networking-3486020
McMahon, P., Hobbs, S., & O’Matz, M. (2018, February 16). Nikolas Cruz was investigated after cutting himself on Snapchat, state report shows. Retrieved February 23, 2018, from http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-school-shooting-nikolas-cruz-cutting-snapchat-20180216-story.html
Nelson, M. (2018, February 23). Police encourage public to report threatening social media posts. Retrieved February 24, 2018, from https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/police-encourage-public-to-report-threatening-social-media-posts