Tweet Before Helping (Bill Nye the Science Guy) - Really?!
Yesterday I came across a very interesting news item. It seems that one of my idols, Bill Nye the science guy, was about to speak at an event hosted by the University of Southern California. As news reports have it, as Mr Nye was walking up to the podium to speak and on his way he collapsed. Reports say he is fine but what is so interesting about this story is not that he collapsed, It is that no one ran from the audience to help him. Rather, the students were more interested in updating personal Twitter accounts or Facebook updates. As Alastair Fairbanks, a USC senior is quoted, "nobody went to his aid at the very beginning when he first collapsed — that just perplexed me beyond reason." The student added, "Instead, I saw students texting and updating their Twitter statuses. It was just all a very bizarre evening."
I love technology and it is changing the world but at what point to we step back and say “really?” As this relates to healthcare, I’m hopeful that if I collapse on the way to the hospital, the EMT or doctors would at least check my vital signs to before Tweeting.