Photos of Hong Kong’s “cramped” apartments appeared in media outlets around the world last week. Issued by Publicis, on behalf of Society for Community Organization, they were enough to make even me quit whining about my apartment size and count my blessings, but the charity’s message soon got lost in the medium.
Today, it isn’t enough to read about a problem; it has to be seen in high-resolution, on a double page photo spread or in a scrolling online gallery. Images so detailed, you can see the dust on the shelves, grime on their necks, suffering in the eyes.
News sites posted the images on their landing pages with barely a sentence to outline the issue; sharable poverty-porn for Generation Twitter.
In this case, a deep rooted social problem was boiled down to a 31-character title - ‘Hong Kong’s cramped apartments’ - to which people added their own gut responses. Pain has to be Tweetable.
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| Via @JuniorBlogger |
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| Via @JFunnyValentine |
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| Via @magnetikonline |
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| Via @ottolenghi |
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| Via @meredithmartin |
I don't doubt that photography can provoke action through public outrage; but in a world where emotions are boiled down to the basic before evaporating in the online ether, it's more difficult.
A lifetime of suffering becomes a “heartbreaking photo series” to be clicked, shared and forgotten until another charity comes along and takes a photo with even more pixels.
For change, we need arguments and words and people who vent to their politicians instead of their social networks. I'm as guilty as anyone, but I've vowed to change - Robert Goodwill MP, expect some angry letters soon...
What are your thoughts on Hong Kong's housing crisis and these images? Share your comments below or Tweet me @chrispbone.
PFHK
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