Lizzy Burke
Opinions Editor
On Monday, March 24, circa 9:30 PM, CNN published a story online about Malaysia Flight 370 and the recent developments, that the flight had gone down in the Indian Ocean and all lives were lost. Although this news was quite striking after the 16 day search for the plane, but there was one thing that stuck out to me the most. “Malaysia Airlines also sent a text message to relatives saying “we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those aboard survived.”
I’m sorry, what? A text message?
I can not believe that Malaysia Airlines notified the relatives of this grim news via text message. I understand that they were under a lot of pressure to get the news out quickly, since all eyes were on them. However, put yourself in the shoes of one of those relatives.
My family member was supposed to leave on a routine flight and went missing for 16 days, 16 days of agonizing pain and uncertainty, then one day, I receive a text message that “none of those aboard survived”. Can you imagine?
Shame on you, Malaysia Airlines. The only excuse offered so far has come from Malaysian Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, who said at a press conference that the company’s “sole motivation” for informing passengers’ family members of their findings through text message was to ensure “the families heard the tragic news before the world did.” (http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/03/25/malaysia-airlines-defends-text-message-to-families-as-china-demands-data/)
There is really no justification for sending condolences via text, even if it means getting the news out quickly. A phone call would have offered at least some interaction that confirms that yes, people are still capable of empathy and understanding how devastating death can be. A phone call also happens instantaneously, real time, without any threat of internet disruption or texts not sending, making it the best option for situations like the one Malaysia Airlines faced this past Monday.
Sadly, this recent atrocity reflects the greater shift in today’s society, the lack of human interaction. I know we’ve heard about it before, such as with the growth of online dating and addictions to phones and social media. However, this dependence on technology has interfered with our basic principles of coexistence – human interaction marked by emotion and thought. A text message is free of thought, free of emotion. At least with a phone call you have the comfort of someone else’s voice, some indication that they are present in that moment with you.
I can’t say I’m not guilty of hiding behind my phone. Human interaction isn’t always easy, especially when it involves such tragedy as the fate of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. However, that is no excuse. We must continue to challenge ourselves in hopes that we will preserve the natural human interaction that once existed, before the domination of technology in our everyday lives. No one deserves to learn of the death of a loved one from a screen, when there’s someone sitting on the other side that could have delivered the news themselves.
May all those who lost their lives on Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 rest in peace.
