Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Box 6.3
Social media vs. conservation education: the cute
slow loris video
There's no doubt the slow loris looks like a cute little creature. It is an animal that
could easily have been dreamed up in the studios of the Disney Corporation of the
1950s and I'm afraid that, for many YouTube viewers, the loris is seen through such
a lens. How can one resist such a fluffy little thing, with its arms outstretched, enjoying
a nice tickle? It seems to be the perfect toy, perfect pet, perfect plaything. One loris
in particular, and her penchant for play, has now sparked a debate on the role new
media plays in the illegal trade of rare animals. Millions of people have watched a
YouTube video of Sonya, the loris, enjoying a tickle, but a new study of the comments
the audience subsequently made has concluded that behind the emotional and
sentimental reaction to these cuddly cuties there lurks - well, not much really.
Many viewers who demonstrated their own peculiar joy at Sonya's antics appear
to know little about conservation issues and even less about the cuties they profess to
adore. And now Anna Nekaris (Nekaris
et al
., 2013) and the team behind the research
say that viewers are indirectly responsible for the demise of the loris by fuelling the
trade in this rare creature. They found that YouTube users were quick to post comments
about how much they'd like to have a loris of their own but not so quick to pick up on
the fact that these animals have been taken from the wild illegally, and often suffer
terrible cruelty before ending up as the stars of their favourite videos. The research also
found that celebrity endorsements generate hits for the videos but do little to raise
awareness about conservation. The researchers argue that sites such as YouTube should
take a greater responsibility for the videos they host that depict illegally traded animals.
But is the fault of social media? On YouTube and other sites, you can also see
videos about endangered species, the illegal animal trade, animal cruelty and informative
reports on the slow loris from ABC News, NatGeo Wild and the BBC. Unfortunately,
these uploads have attracted far fewer hits than the now infamous tickling Sonya video
which started the whole thing off. Nevertheless, these more informative videos still
attract viewers in their tens or even hundreds of thousands. What's more, you can also
find many comments posted on the cutie videos which do reveal a strong awareness
of the issues and express both anger and frustration at the stupidity of some people
and the cruelty of the those involved in the illegal animal trade. Like it or not, YouTube
is an important part of the public sphere. It's a space for public debate as well as for
action of a nature that isn't blind to the life and integrity of other living sentient creatures.
If left to market forces, illicit or otherwise, the problems of species extinction,
habitat destruction, animal cruelty and illegal animal trading will not go away. In fact,
they will probably get worse. People, especially in Japan and Russia, want a cuddly
cute loris for a pet. The media, old and new, is a space for communication and
learning. We need to listen and learn rather than to close off yet more avenues where
the possibility of learning about the world beyond our own particular bubbles can
conceivably occur. The real issue, then, is transforming human attitudes to nature
and this is a task that needs to be undertaken everywhere. It may mean recognizing
that when a home video of a cute loris being tickled appears, there should be a
warning sign - 'stupid, irresponsible behaviour on show'. It might also mean that
if a warning sign must appear alongside a report showing the fetid animal markets
of Asia, it should not read, 'some viewers may find scenes distressing' but 'watch it
and, if you don't like it, do something about it'.
Source: extracted from
The Conversation
blog - Blewitt (2013b).
