The tragic saga of a submersible that went missing during a voyage to see the wreckage of the Titanic came to an end on Thursday, as the five passengers aboard were declared dead following an apparent implosion of the small vessel.
But the story that captivated the planet, in part due to the ongoing fascination with the Titanic shipwreck, also revealed an ugly underbelly on social media of mockery and even disdain for those aboard.
"Like a digital Tower of Babel, social media is evolving into an increasingly ugly and chaotic space — a real-time repository for our worst impulses, uninspired musings, scatalogical humor and ill-formed thoughts that should be kept to ourselves," Los Angeles Times staff writer Jessica Gelt noted. It is an online Mall of America: vast, vacuous, relentlessly commercial and soul-sucking. And in a time of immense crisis — political, ecological, social — it has become a garbage dump of vile commentary publicly aired because that’s just what we do now."
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed Thursday that a debris field found about 1600 feet from the bow of the Titanic is the missing OceanGate Titan submersible that was carrying the passengers. For the past week, there had been hope that the vessel could still be found intact before oxygen ran out.
MISSING TITANIC SUBMARINE FOUND, CREW KILLED IN DEEP-SEA CATASTROPHE, COAST GUARD SAYS
During that time, with news coverage of the possible rescue mission saturating the airwaves, a number of factors contributed to it becoming ripe for acidic social media commentary and jokes. And while dark humor and mockery didn't change the fates of those aboard, it was still a sad reflection to some cultural observers about modern humanity.
TikToker Ginny Hogan quipped this week, "It’s crazy to think we might only have another 30 hours or so of being able to make fun of the people on the submarine," referencing the ongoing countdown of how much oxygen the passengers may still have. Memes referencing the blockbuster 1997 disaster movie "Titanic" abounded online on Instagram and other social media sites, as well as jokes about how the vessel was powered by a video game controller.
"Why does it seem hard to feel sorry for the rich people that might die in the submersible?" asked one Reddit thread.
NBC News noted "eat the rich" sentiments abounded, as OceanGate charges up to $250,000 for the journeys to the bottom of the ocean, so the wealth of those aboard contributed to some of the mockery. Stories about the company getting warnings about potential safety issues with its submersible also emerged.
Far-left "The Nation" correspondent and frequent MSNBC guest Elie Mystal quipped, "Next time some rich white person wants to take Sam Alito on an expensive trip, please take him to see the Titanic," referencing the Supreme Court justice who was the subject of a critical ProPublica report this week.
Technology entrepreneur Lon Safko told Forbes the performative snark and humor was a form of "narcissism."
"It's also about narcissism, 'Oh look... 79 people liked my snarky post!' Safko said. "It's a form of heckling and getting attention. The bigger the story, the more attention can be diverted from the story to them personally. It is sad to see how social media has allowed us to devolve into a society so self-centered and narcissistic. As with most hecklers, the only way to defuse them is to ignore them, and don't feed them their negative energy."
The victims were Suleman Dawood, Shahzada Dawood, Stockton Rush, Paul-Henry Nargeolet and Hamish Harding. Harding, a British millionaire, was known for his exploratory escapades across the globe and a founding member of the Board of Trustees of The Explorers Club.
Their journey elicited admiration from many corners as well, with some voices noting their courage and embrace of the human desire to explore and push limits. OceanGate said they shared a "spirit of adventure" in a statement about their deaths.
Another report pointed to the instinct of communal enjoyment of the troubles of people considered above their station.
"One main reason given for the perceived glee or dismissiveness with which the incident has been met with is summed up in a German word: 'schadenfreude.' As defined by Merriam-Webster, ‘schadenfreude’ means enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others — generally this enjoyment is reserved for those considered by individuals to be ‘above’ themselves," Nexstar reported.
