The issues in Iran re camera phones and political change etc., id entirely different

as photographer of silverpoint black and white for 40 years, for me cant photograph when confronted with say, accident on roadway. Run to help. Instinct.

However, if one cannot help, because press of people, or those more qualified on scene, I can imagine someone recording the scene via notes, camera, etc

I would imagine any photos this woman has of the scene will now become critical evidence.

dr.e

But too many people – and I have to include this site – are willing to perpetrate social fraud to play on people's emotions in order to get a bit of attention.

I suspect this disassociation is at play as well in other arenas — like Fort Hood.

The Fort Hood thing was entirely different. It was not a political moment, no one that wasn't involved could do anything to help and there was no reason why people had to know now except for the next of kin, etc. That usage was entirely inappropriate. To make matters worse, correct information had no utility value, but misinformation could potentially have had (has had?) grave consequences. That's because it creates a highly emotional reaction in the consumers that cannot necessarily be corrected with facts later on (see Greenwald's point).

There is also the general (and growing problem) of how that approach to life cuts people off from fully experiencing their surroundings and how it disrupts empathy formation during conversations, but that's a slightly different issue.