The immediacy of gathering and sharing news has taken center stage in an age of high-powered search engines and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. News of bin Laden's death spread across Twitter Sunday evening like wild fires fueled by Santa Ana winds.
According to Mashable, "Google saw a 1 million percent increase in searches for “bin laden” during a one-hour period from 10:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. ET Sunday evening."
Nearly an hour before President Obama announced to the world that a U.S. raid on bin Laden's compound in Pakistan was a success, followers on Twitter were already spreading the news. Given the immediacy of the news and spurred on by emotions, thousands of people, especially the young began to gather in the streets. Without question, the role of social media in contemporary society has reached a new level of sophisication and maturity.
In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, social media analyst Josh Bernoff noted, ""If something is visible and somebody sees it, it is now public...All it takes is a single person who finds something out and then publicizes it on his feed or in social media. If it is written down, it can be shared. If it is heard, it can be tweeted."
Politely Elbowed at "Ground Zero"
In New York City, near "ground zero," photographer Ryan Brenizer "politely elbowed" his way through a surging crowd to witness what might have appeared at first glance to be some sort of riotious fraternity party. But the motivation for this crowd was wholly different. Young people clinging to street lamps or others smashed together below, were reacting to news of bin Laden's death. The young people Brenizer encourntered were in their pre-teens at the time of the 9/11 attacks, yet the emotional outpouring was real. Somehow the crowd was expressing the pent up frustrations of living through the attacks, two wars and the many failed searches for Bin Laden over the years. The gatherings, all across the country, acted as a most welcomed catharsis -- a momentary yet giant sigh of relief.
Brenizer's images capture a precious and most precise moment in this country's history.
Yet, not all media treated the throngs of youth in the same way. Many in the mainstream seemed to have ignored or misread the significance of the youth taking to the streets.
DUCK and COVER
Photo Credit: Library of Congress
What the media was overlooking and failing to report on in a significant way is how this generation, just like the school children practicing "duck and cover" drills in the 1950s and 60s, had been living under the threat of an attack, and the uncertainty of our own country's motivation for war. After all it is this younger generation that are exposed to the possibilities of fighting in the Middle East or having a loved-one killed or injured.
On the Street
Photo Credit: The Pentagraph/David Proeber
In Bloomington, IL, veteran photojournalist and editor David Proeber of the Pentagraph was on the scene to record what seems to be a break through moment for many young people. Proeber wrote, "One girl told me, it wasn't so much about bin Laden's death, as much it was the fact that the U.S. finally could do something right. For her, it reversed this entire, 'We're going down the tubes mentality" that has been so prevelent in mainstream press and television commentary we've seen lately.' She said, the street rally was more an act of patriotism. That is a big story, in my opinion. But you gotta ask the right questions to understand what was behind it all."
In retrospect, the resurgence of youth as demonstrated by the crowds following the news of bin Laden's death may be a sign, and a good sign, for this country. What we are witnessing is the engagement of a generation that has been relatively quiet in post-9/11 America. At the same time, this is the same generation which has been tasked to fight our battles overseas. The same generation that has seen countless friends come home injured or in coffins. Social media is connecting young people, perhaps all people, in this country in surprising ways. The interactivity afforded by being connected through Facebook or Twitter undeniably represents a turning point in how our nation responds to events both natural and manmade.