Social Media, and Media in General
Sensationalism.
I used to “live” on social media. Facebook, twitter, Instagram, snapchat, Esty, Pinterest, etc.. I lived on all of them. I updated my life every 15 minutes minutes and posted EVERYTHING. Nothing was hidden from public view. And then I caught a fed case. At that point Every single thing I ever posted was used against me in my case. Even after the accounts were deleted, my posts became my greatest enemy.
All during my pretrial the news coverage happened monthly. Posts were made, stories were told, groups were formed and I sat quietly in county jail. I thought after my sentencing that things would die down. I was so wrong.
During my 5 years that i have been at Aliceville I have received over 3 dozen requests for interviews, stories, books, news stories and so much more, and every letter is the same, “we want you to be able to share “your side” of the story” Each of them claim to have “sensitivity” to my side and just want an honest outlook. Every letter the same, just worded a bit differently. But What I have come to realize is that NOT one of these media outlets are actually interested in being non bias. Not one of these outlets actually care about “my side”, they are all in fact looking for ratings. Each of them just looking to be the Next big thing. And lets face it, most Americans, or people in general really, aren’t looking for the truth, they are looking for all of the drama, gossip, and dirty secrets. We see it every single day on the Oxygen channel, A&E, etc.. Reality television today is all the “thing” drama and sensationalism for ratings. No one wants to hear about remorse, regret, or even the other side. Its just become a really over sensationalized industry that thrives on hurting others.
I wonder if any of these media companies realize the damage that THEY do to the family members of the criminal. Does anyone ever think about the children or the spouse that has to continue to live and move on every day? Does any one of these producers ever stop to think that maybe their cruel intentions are just as criminal as some of our actions?
No one that I have ever encountered has said that they woke up one day and said, “hey, i want to destroy some lives today, I am going to go out and committee a crime”. There is always reasoning, or accidents, or forced situations. You just never know.
I wonder what ever happened to “we all make mistakes” maybe its time to put a little more “amazing” back into grace and stop telling stories for Ratings and start sharing truths to make change.
T.L.
