We Are...a bit speechless. The media has been exploding with the news of Jerry Sandusky and the Penn State administration. As a graduate of Penn State, not only do I see the story being reported on the news every time I pass a television, but all of my social media accounts have been downright chaotic. I can’t remember the last time my Twitter feed has updated this frequently. And then there’s the insanity that is my Facebook newsfeed. Yet, for the past few days, all of it surrounds just one figure: Joe Paterno, or as we like to call him, JoePa. Well, can you blame them? The man is an icon in Happy Valley, or I guess was an icon…That whole debate is a matter of personal opinion. Instead, I want to discuss just how dominant social media is when dealing with an event like this one.
As you saw from the previous blog post, multitudes of people are speaking up and voicing their thoughts. Last night, blogs were constantly being updated, students were posting videos of JoePa speaking through his living room window, and every five minutes, I was receiving a text message from a college friend asking if I had heard anything. For a Penn Stater, it was social media chaos. Suddenly, everyone needed to get a response from JoePa. Everyone wanted to know if/when he was going to step down. Reporters from all over flooded to State College to push through the several hundred chanting students to see what Joe would say. It was news, and discussion was spreading like wildfire.
Instead of turning on the news or radio, I watched my Facebook newsfeed for any article links or pictures. I searched YouTube for any new uploaded video, and voiced my opinion on Twitter. Whether it was the number of groups being created to stand up against child abuse or the large amount of Facebook profile pictures being changed in support of Paterno, all of the buzz spearheaded a substantial increase in comments and retweets. People wanted to be heard.
Joe has been dominating the news and social media networks. Both the Penn State community and the outside world are reacting. It’s thanks to social media that you are able to speak out and state just where your judgment lies. I guess we are not so speechless after all.