Re: Everybody PANIC!
Reply Post to Blog #12: Everybody PANIC!
The internet is wonderful. Just not in the case of H1N1. Or any other disease, gossip stories or theories related topics. But that’s where the greatness of the internet comes in. You can check the facts you find online. Although most are false; most choose to ignore that minor fact. But it’s tiny. It’s a really, very, tiny worry to many.
StarTribune: Public health officials face dilemma: What facts should be released as flu virus spread
“Too little information feeds rumors, feeds distrust,” Parmet said. “Too much information may lead to panic and stigma and other real harms.”
Because the media is everywhere we become bombarded with information. We get statistics; whether true or false. People need time to fact check. With the internet it’s becoming a lost art. Think of why USA laws take so long to change. It can take a year or decades. It’s planned this way to make the People think. It isn’t so we can all be rash and make mistakes. The newspaper is the same way. The internet is not. Media begins to run in a circular motion and it’s up to people to use their resources and limit their conversation.
If you’d like to talk about the death of a child; fine. It’s a good thing to ponder on. However it’d be nice if people realized some of the diseases that make a popular topic are not new. Check out the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. For a real account of the 1977 case of Swine Flu/Spanish Flu/ N1H1 you can check out McNab’s blog: Swine Flu, then and now. You can see over popularized, inaccurate information on a global scale.
CNN: Mexican citizens to return from China:
As a result of the flight suspensions, 200 Chinese citizens were stranded in Mexico City and Tijuana. A China Southern Airlines flight was expected to fetch them Tuesday, state media said.
Mexican officials have bitterly criticized China for putting Mexican citizens in isolation. They said Mexicans were being singled out because of their passports, despite showing no signs of the virus.
China has denied discriminating against Mexicans, saying it is exercising proper precaution to prevent the spread of the virus.
The Centers for Disease Control estimates 36,000 people die annually in the United States from the flu. (ABC: Common Flu More Deadly than Swine Flu in USA) The same medications that help fight against the flu are effective against N1H1. IE. Tamiful, Relenza, etx.
The Swine Flu is helping to show the flaws in new media. While at the same time; showing it’s efficantcey. People are not properily utilizing the media. It is being abused with rapt rumors and lies. However it’s impact is not a force to be reckoned with.
With the overabundance of information skeptisim is nessicary. Not only about the government, as the internet tends to preach so much, but of the internet it’s self. In the future generations will grow feeling as though the new media is the truth. That the internet will not decieve. This is becoming a mass wide problem. But how can people educate understanding the truth of the internet? There’s to much data to compete and sift through. And too often our attention spans aren’t great enough.
It’s time for a new invention.
10.May.09 
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rcogle
very GOOD!!! =)
[...] Rachel and I have similar topics in our blogs. The styles in which these topics are addressed are far from one another. Where hers are opinion driven, mine are driven by checks and balances. Her focus tends to lean towards the, now, individual. In contrast is mine with a focus on the future of the masses. A comparison in style can be see by comparing our post on Panic/The Swine Flu. Hers: And now Pigs Fly. Mine Re: Everybody Panic. [...]