Where were you on September 11, 2001? I think we all remember where we were when we first found out about the tragedies of 9-11. I was in the lunch line at Franklin High School, a hour-and-a-half north of the field where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed. I spent most of my youthful years in the 90s, a rather peaceful time in America. It was hard to wrap my head around the idea of my country being attacked, and eight years later, it still is.
It’s amazing how much we’ve changed as a country since September 11, 2001. We’ve spent the time involved in multiple wars. We’ve seen a Hurricane destroy a city. We’ve seen the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
We’ve also developed and advanced. How we communicate has changed dramatically.
I used a VHS tape to record news footage about September 11. Today, I would be getting all of my information from Twitter (which would likely be very slow because of the high volume of traffic). I would also be watching the news online–no time for commercials. And if I wanted something to show the grandkids in 50 years, I’d save a file to my computer.
Social media has enabled us to be more active participants in the news. We aren’t really watchers anymore. In this blog post by LA Weekly, Alexia Tsotsis analyzes how things would be different if the the tragedies of 9-11 happened today. Some of the things she lists include: an influx opinions and myths, more video/texts/pics from the World Trade Centers and even video from within the planes. Eerie. Almost as eerie as some of the tweets we’re seeing today (I’ve gotten chills at least five times).
Today, the country is using social media to reflect upon the tragedies of September 11. With hashags, twitter users are reflecting upon the day, and the people who were killed in the attacks. They are sharing where they were when they found out about the attacks with the #whereiwas hashtag. Some are tweeting the names of people who were killed with the #neverforget hashtag. #Sept11 and #remember911 are also hashtags being used.
The Center for History and New Media hosts the “September 11 Digital Archive.” The archive houses more than 150,000 digital items, including more than 40,000 emails and other electronic communications. It invites site visitors to contribute their story, photo, documents and files. On YouTube, CBS and the Associated Press shared videos of today’s memorial services.
No matter how we have reflected today, or how we’ll reflect eight years from now, it’s important that we never forget September 11, 2001.
