In one of the more bizarre examples of social networking give and take, an armed 36-year-old guy named Jason Valdez recently held a woman hostage at a Utah motel in a 16-hour standoff with police … while regularly updating his Facebook status.
“I’m currently in a standoff … kinda ugly, but ready for whatever,” Valdez posted, according to abcnews.go.com. He sent out pics of himself and the girl he was holding, labeled with: “Got a cute ‘Hostage’ huh.”
And that’s not all. Numerous Facebook friends were keeping in touch with posts of their own. Some were wisely imploring Valdez to stand down, but at least one guy outside was shooting him logistics info as Valdez was “popping off shots” through the front door. “They got a gun ner in bushes, stay low …” one guy reported. And Valdez saluted back with, “Thank you homie. good looking out.”
In the end, things didn’t turn out well. The police stormed the room and Valdez shot himself in the chest. He’s now in critical condition.
Now, Valdez’ choices and the situation’s outcome are all sad enough, but the whole Facebook involvement just strikes me as very strange. There are still people out there wondering if social media is addictive. I’d say that if you can’t even sign off while SWAT members are aiming guns at your blockaded hotel room, that qualifies. I guess the rewards of constant connection are too strong. How else can you keep track of who your friends might be currently dating or, say, shooting?
OK, I’ll put the snarkiness aside, but c’mon.
And what about all those “friends” that were glued to their computers waiting for the next post or helping thwart the police action? It sure seems like they ought to be re-examining their priorities. Or maybe, in the latter cases, be charged with something.
Oh and one last note to consider. ABC reported that during the standoff, Valdez gained at least a dozen new friends.
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