While working out on the elliptical machine, I turned the TV at the gym on CNN to get an update on the Virginia Tech shooting.

After all the speeches, there was a moment of silence and at that point, a young man was being comforted in the front row by the President, his wife and a few others. Moments later, the young man, along with a woman, scurried out of the auditorium with a few people accompanying them. The anchor then said:

“Obviously, this is very emotional.”

Really? Sometimes I wonder if journalists have a brain in their head as they utter cliche after cliche, words that have become redundant, meaningless, irrelevant.

As I continued my workout, I couldn’t help but think that in the media, the theatre of grief seems to be more pressing than acknowledging that there are real people experiencing real emotions because real people actually died.

We watch the spectacle unfold before us on TV, in the daily newspapers and on the radio. Each newsroom is eager to publish the news before someone else does. They profile the tears, the near misses, the choked up voices.

They try to piece together a story, a history, trying to understand how something like this could happen. They present their findings by putting on their amateur CSI hat, misinforming the public, then hurriedly trying to cover their mistakes with more misinformation.

The theatre of grief is a serious business for traditional media. Without it, they would be toast. And what gets my goat is that the more the media profiles the tears, the events and the tragedy, the more we see the 33 who were slaughtered yesterday as just a number.  Students in the right place, but at the wrong time. The lone gunman who was demented, bizzare and carried out his killings in a meticulous, yet mindless way. 

Thank God for social media. It humanizes this situation. It takes us from the theatre of grief to who each individual was. While the media are flabbergasted that someone as far away as Iraq would call a friend at Virginia Tech to make sure his friend is okay, social media has created a small community with alot of people.

At the end of the day, someone will never come home. It’s reported that the teacher who was killed yesterday was a Canadian. He or she will never go through customs, never vote, never eat poutine, never drink a Tim Horton’s coffee.

To put this in social media terms:

• One of the victim’s Facebook profile will never be updated again. His or her best friend is still waiting for the message left on the wall to be answered.
• One of the victim’s MySpace page will no longer feature an updated list of tunes from that person’s list. The victim’s brother won’t know if he or she liked the new Avril Lavigne CD.
• One of the victim’s podcast will forever lay dormant in iTunes. A legion of fans will miss their beloved host.
• One of the victim’s Twitter account hasn’t been updated since the morning of April 17, 2007. A few friends are sick with worry wondering if their friend was part of the 33.
• One of the victim’s loved one is waiting for a reply about their dinner plans last night. Perhaps he was going to propose. He will now have to return the ring.
• A debate started in the comments section of one of the victim’s blog will remain unfinished. What would have been her final thoughts on the matter?

While the theatre of grief will continue to be played out by the media, social media will humanize every victim.

Tags: virginia tech, twitter, blogging, technology, social media, podcasting, CNN, facebook, myspace, youtube