In the UK at the moment, there is a news item about a missing 17-year old, Jayden Parkinson. I don't want to talk about the case, or what's alleged; it must be dreadful for all involved.
What struck me as odd, though, about the reporting, is this: I was in the canteen, eating my customary bacon and cheese turnover, when the BBC reported what Jayden's mother had posted on Facebook. I thought that was odd, but looking on Google tonight I have found the same information in the Guardian and The Mirror.
When did Facebook posts become newsworthy? I don't understand; I think this is an invasion of privacy and an unnecessary intrusion into someone's personal tragedy. It doesn't 'add colour' to the story, which I suppose might be an argument. But do you really need to see what someone posts on Facebook to imagine what they are going through - if you have to imagine that sort of thing? Surely updates on social media sites are personal and not news? If this was just the BBC, I would shrug this off, but the fact that other news sources are reporting from Facebook as well strikes me as bizarre.
Having said that, maybe I'm just an old fuddy-duddy who isn't moving with the times.
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