Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/388498
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2014 News 11 come extremely difficult. At least, this is my case." Apart from an unfortunate pro- pensity to spread half-truths (if not all-out misinformation) by dint of the fact that it isn't as privy to gate- keeping as traditional media, the in- ternet also enables people to trade in a constant barrage of graphic im- agery – as exemplified by the chill- ing parade of Muammar Gaddafi's corpse back in 2011. Mediterranean International Rela- tions Analyst Prof. Stephen Calleya says that while "in the immediate term such images generate percep- tions of shock," if repeated on a regu- lar basis over a period of time, "they could also result in us becoming more desensitized to such atroci- ties". Calleya concludes that, "this would have far reaching consequences on how future generations view trag- edies". Referring in particular to the hor- rific – and now viral – public execu- tions of journalists by members of the Islamic State, Charlo Camilleri compares the online landscape to a digital version of "the public state". "The public square where execu- tions took place in the presence of locals, to instil fear, warn and sub- due, has now been expanded. The world is now the public square and the witnesses are not the few people present at executions but millions of viewers and followers." Montebello, on the other hand, does not see the internet as a trou- bling development on this count, claiming that, on the contrary, "the internet (when free) offers alterna- tive sources which are otherwise unavailable or inaccessible. The free internet is a blessing". Rather than vilifying the internet, Baldacchino suggests that the prob- lem is a deep-rooted one. In fact, he suggests, it could all be traced back to our system of education, which encourages us to accumulate "facts" without processing their underlying meaning and overall context. "However this is not easy, given the way education is a processing of "facts" that are then tested in as- sessed structures for which we are supposed to be trained to say the 'right' answer, or else we 'fail'. If we have grown to digest facts by means of a fallacy of "ability" foisted on us from the tender age of three, or as soon as we are schooled, I cannot imagine how we can begin to break that habit and process what has al- ready been processed for us by the so called 'knowledge industry'," Bald- acchino says. What to do? Mifsud is resigned about the – per- haps inevitable – impulse towards apathy that such a ceaseless torrent of bad news can inspire. "I almost come to the conclusion that one cannot blame people for fall- ing into apathy, because the stress all this creates, sooner or later, becomes simply unbearable. There are too many lies, too many contradictions, too many paradoxes," Mifsud says. However, Calleya suggests that a clear priority should serve to guide our attention. "In a world of continuous news up- dates the main priority one should focus on is the loss of life. All other issues come second. "The priority that deserves most at- tention is that where human beings are losing their life. Whether it is due to a lack of basic nutrition, lack of natural resources, conflict, terror- ism, or a tragedy, the loss of life is the main issue one should focus on in the deluge of news. The same questions should always be asked: 'Why has this happened?', and: 'Could it have been prevented?'" Calleya says. Camilleri claims that the first step towards dealing with political apathy on a local level is to "realise that we are part of a world out there. Some- times I wonder whether we really are aware of this fact…" treljic@mediatoday.com.mt summer of watching helplessly: sense of the madness "The public square where executions took place inthe presence of locals, to instil fear, warn and subdue, has now been expanded. The world is now the public square and the witnesses are the millions of viewers and followers" – Rev. Charlo Camilleri Ukraine, Gaza, Ebola and the rise of ISIS... are we equipped to adequately process this summer's political turmoil and bloodshed?