This type of reprehensible response will keep happening until society finally learns how the internet fundamentally changed the nature of fame. The best explanation of the problem is the video "This Is Phil Fish"[1] by Innuendo Studios. If you haven't seen it, please watch it. It's not about Phil Fish; he is simply a useful example of how fame works on the internet. Please watch the video!
The core problem is that fame used to be opt-in. Becoming famous required infrastructure. Gaining access to that infrastructure required the permission various gatekeepers, time, and resources. You had to work to become famous, because media access was a scarce resource.
On the internet fame became something that happens to you, because the internet IS media access. We're used to seeing fame as something that was chosen; if you didn't want to be famous, you could walk away from the media infrastructure and go back to your "normal life". The famous band could quit touring. Now that everyone has media access, that "normal life" can become famous directly. When that happens, walking away from fame means walking away from your normal life.
This type of reprehensible response will keep happening until society finally learns how the internet fundamentally changed the nature of fame. The best explanation of the problem is the video "This Is Phil Fish"[1] by Innuendo Studios. If you haven't seen it, please watch it. It's not about Phil Fish; he is simply a useful example of how fame works on the internet. Please watch the video!
The core problem is that fame used to be opt-in. Becoming famous required infrastructure. Gaining access to that infrastructure required the permission various gatekeepers, time, and resources. You had to work to become famous, because media access was a scarce resource.
On the internet fame became something that happens to you, because the internet IS media access. We're used to seeing fame as something that was chosen; if you didn't want to be famous, you could walk away from the media infrastructure and go back to your "normal life". The famous band could quit touring. Now that everyone has media access, that "normal life" can become famous directly. When that happens, walking away from fame means walking away from your normal life.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmTUW-owa2w