So as most people at CCSU, and apparently around the world (one of my friend's sisters who is in Paris actually saw it on TV) saw there was a lockdown at CCSU due to a student who wore a threatening looking halloween cosume on campus and caused a huge panic. I was in Memorial Hall (dining hall) during the lockdown and I stayed calm. My first thought was honestly thatsomeone was wearing a halloween costume and someone mistook it for a gunman. media completley changed how I viewed this situation.
While at the lunch table a girl and guy sat down next to me while a friend of hers texted her information on the situation that turned out to be completley false. She read exts saying things like shots had been fired, there was a hosage situation, there were 3 people involved, and the guy was taking out anger over a girl. She was very adamant that hes source was credible and it honestly got me worried. I then foolishly texted these rumors to a friend asking for information (he was off campus). The TVs were on in the cafe at the same time and the news people were perpetuating some of the same rumors. After I learned it was only a halloween costume I felt foolish.
Social media in this situation worked similar to the game "telephone" that we played as children. Here someone starts a message and it gets passed along through a group. At the end the last person repeats the message and it is usually different than it was originally. The original message from the 911 caller was that there was a man with a gun, sword, camo, a bullet proof vest, and knee pads walking across campus. All the information was added and spread creating more problems. Social media made this situation worse.
