Dubai: When a Saudi teenager took a selfie with his grandfather, who appeared to be dead, he did not think it would make world news.
The photograph surfaced on Facebook a few days ago and soon went viral on social media. The boy is seen sticking his tongue out next to his grandfather.
Setting his status as “feeling sad” with a sad emoticon, he captioned the photograph “Bye-bye Grandad” in Arabic.
Details are still not clear. Whether the picture was taken in a hospital in Saudi Arabia and if the grandfather was, in fact, dead is being investigated. But everything about the story thus far seems to embody the selfie culture — self-obsession, lack of privacy and apparent insensitivity.
On Gulf News’ official Facebook page, the story received over half a million views and 500 comments.
The reaction was mixed — some criticised the boy, his parents and the entire selfie culture while others tried to find a rational explanation for the incident.
Gulfnews.com user Salma Rizwi wrote: “Extremely distasteful, this poor man needed some respect. The boy sticking his tongue out is a testament to his mockery. Many people die with their eyes open and some with their mouths. It is the on-duty doctor or nurse’s responsibility to ensure they are closed.”
Other readers also criticised the absence of adults in the entire scenario.
Sunita Ravi Menon wrote on the newspaper’s official Facebook page: “I remember when my dad was sick with cancer, an occasion, which could not be avoided, needed his blessing. I remember how humiliated he felt when the photographs were being taken. He whispered to me, ‘Tell them not to take pictures.’ Where is the parent, whose father is lying there helpless?”
This was a question many readers had, along with another: Has the selfie culture gone too far?
“The boy doesn’t look ‘sad’ at all in the picture. People nowadays are overdoing things. A selfie is more important then a dead person’s honour?” Seema Anoor, a Facebook user, asked.
Despite the overwhelming criticism, many readers chose to give the boy the benefit of doubt.
“Let the investigation conclude before judging the situation. It could very well be that the boy took the picture before his grandfather passed away and posted it after his passing,” Fahd Mohammad, a gulfnews.com user, wrote.
Bong Ferrer, a Facebook user, commented: “Is it really making fun of the dead or somewhat taking a last memory with his grandfather? Who are you to judge? Maybe he is taking his sadness in positive way, he accepted his loss and his grandfather is at peace now.”
— The writer is a trainee with the Reader’s Desk at Gulf News
