Online video is usually associated with entertainment, whether it’s short clips of people on YouTube, the latest episode of a television show on Hulu, or a streaming movie on iTunes. But there can also be a much more serious and important side to the medium.
Online Video Entertainment
Online video comes in all different forms. The vast majority of which are related to entertainment. Streaming movie rentals from Amazon and iTunes, television episodes on Hulu or the BBC iPlayer, and user-generated content on YouTube and other video sharing sites.
However, online video can also be used as a force for good, a means of getting an important message out there in a medium which is easily accessible to people of of both genders, all ages, and all races. And in this sense it is indispensable.
Texting While Driving
Texting while driving is a fairly new phenomenon that has only become a problem as the popularity of texting has increased. Governments are now having to deal with the issue which studies suggest is potentially more harmful than drink driving. Texting while driving saps more concentration from drivers.
In the U.K. and other parts of Europe, texting while driving is illegal. But in all but six of the United States this isn’t yet the case. Persuading people, especially youngsters, that texting while driving isn’t an activity that should be enjoyed regularly is clearly a priority around the world.
Shocking British PSA
The problem is being tackled by the use of public service announcements or infomercials which lay out the facts in order to dissuade people from texting while driving. But while the American efforts have taken a jovial approach thus far, a PSA produced by the Gwent police force is a more hard-hitting affair.
The full video is 30-minutes long and shows a horrific car accident caused by a teenager texting while driving. Last month saw a shorter four-minute version of the clip hit the Internet and become a viral video hit.
From Wales To Worldwide
It was made in Wales for a budget price of £10,000 ($17,000) but has now been seen around the world on YouTube and the like. Originally intended as a film about joyriding, it was changed to be about texting while driving due to teenagers informing the police this is becoming a bigger problem.
The video works by holding nothing back, and includes shots of people dead and dying, and even the implication that a baby has been killed in the accident. All because someone chose to text on their phone while driving.
Conclusions
The video has been discussed in the American media and been featured on the likes of CNN and CBS. Without online video and the power of the Web to generate viral video hits then it’s likely only a fraction of the millions who have now viewed the video would ever have seen it. Which puts it all into perspective.
[Via The Guardian]
