What's the best way to respond to hostage crisis in your neighborhood? Take a selfie, apparently.
Australian police have locked down the center of a popular shopping district in Sydney after a gunman stormed a cafe and took several customers hostage. But despite the gravity of the situation — what's being called one of the biggest security scares in Australia in decades — some bystanders are smiling widely and snapping selfies as close to the scene as possible.
Sydney. Ostsggi e selfie... "@MarkDiStef: The punters are back taking selfies 100m from the Lindt Cafe #sydneysiege pic.twitter.com/sa62odTyWO"
December 15, 2014
How to be a complete idiot: take a #selfie w/Police during crisis & post. @edysmack: #sydneysiege I hate this people pic.twitter.com/Hv9JUHihKU
December 15, 2014
These people are taking selfies on the scene of the #sydneysiege. pic.twitter.com/M2ZWqNxKrI
December 15, 2014
Shameful tourists take selfies at scene of #SydneySiege http://t.co/k84Z2MRll2 pic.twitter.com/FQFV6pmkKK
December 15, 2014
This horrible selfie culture: People posing, smiling at scene of #SydneySiege http://t.co/7ORQWpRUUD pic.twitter.com/fLUYSltx0w via @DailyMailAU
December 15, 2014
This sort of reaction is, sadly, unsurprising. People around the world have been rubbernecking at accidents or crises since before the rise of the selfie. With the prevalance of social media, however, gawking is less about fascination with an incident and more about showing your digital friends: Yes, I was there, and yes, this happened to me.
These selfies are the perfect confluence of a national tragedy and digital narcicissm. There's a time and place for selfies, and hostage situations aren't one of them.
Perhaps this single tweet sums up this terrible trend best:
Too bad you can't take selfies of your character. ???? #sydneysiege #selfie pic.twitter.com/dcrpAPkbf3
December 15, 2014