technology: Killings draw new voices to social media

Many who don't usually post political statements are talkative on social mediaThe tragedy is drawing many new voices to social media debatesCommon themes are gun control, school security

(CNN) -- Social media is boiling with talk about Friday's massacre at a school in Newtown, Connecticut. That's no surprise.

But there is something remarkable about a number of conversations, many of which begin with a phrase like: "I don't normally post about politics, but..."

Because of the unbelievable toll of the shooting, or the innocence snatched from the children or many other reasons, even those who usually keep their political views to themselves had something powerful to say.

Something about the tragedy turned many people from observers to advocates.

His tweets are eclectic but rarely controversial. But after the news that a gunman killed 20 children and seven adults before ending his own life, he felt compelled to be forceful with his views.

Levey was a freshman at a school in Aurora, Colorado, when the Columbine shooting happened nearby. He had watched movies at the theater in Aurora that was the site of another mass shooting this summer.

"It just all kind of added up and I was upset over (Friday's mass shooting)," he said. "I still am. I just had to say something about it."

Usually, he steers away from politics on social media, leaving others, as he put it, to argue about it.

But in the 24 hours after the shooting, he has become an unofficial lobbyist for gun control.

The fact that most of Friday's victims were children sharpened a political view that he had slowly arrived over the years.

"For the longest time, I didn't have a problem with people owning guns, but after yesterday, I definitely changed my views a little bit," he said. "If this isn't a wake up call, I don't know what is."

How to help

The gun-control debates that raged on Facebook and Twitter immediately after the shooting turned others off, and led them to make uncharacteristic posts advocating strong opinions.

Gina Griffin, a client relationship manager in Buford, Georgia, said she makes it a point not to be overly opinionated on her Facebook wall because such posts invite negative responses.

But she could not rationalize the events in Newtown and began, "I try to stay out of the politics because of all the anger it brings. BUT..."

What followed was a lengthy screed against those engaging in debates over gun control. The real problem, she wrote, is Americans' attitudes toward mental health issues. She made her position clear: "It's not guns that (are) the issue, it's people not recognizing the warning signs and getting involved to prevent a tragedy."

By her own description, Griffin tries to spread positive thoughts on Facebook, mostly through photos she shares.

On Saturday, however, she wanted to be heard above the crowd.

"Everyone went to the gun issue, that's all everyone is talking about, but it is not about that," she said.

Those normally family-photos-only types used words like "unspeakable" and "irreconcilable" to explain what compelled them to use their cyber-pulpit.

"While I know after today some of us will cry for more gun control, some of us will cry for more need to defend ourselves, my prayer is that we all could unify and agree to cry out for more God in our schools, our homes and our nation," Midlothian, Texas, resident Casey Ballard posted on Facebook.

Her sentiment gathered 96 "likes."

"My point was not to be political," Ballard said."We can hope for some policy change, but we should all want and need some God."

Another Texas resident, former high school teacher Marianne Horton, admits that she mostly shares photos of her kids on social media and is sensitive about posting controversial views that some may not like.

"Any time it has to do with kids, as a parent, it outrages me," she said of the shooting.

So she broke from her normal habits and shared a strong message calling for more security at schools.

Horton advocated for schools to be on permanent lockdown and having outsiders not be able to even make it past the front door. Metal detectors, school uniforms, clear backpacks (or no backpacks) are worthwhile ideas, she wrote.

The Newtown shooting "was the most disgusting thing I have seen in my life. I couldn't help but post something about it," she said.

Like many others who jumped into the conversation, Horton was surprised by the large response she received.

"I feel that as a parent and teacher, it was something that needed to be said," she said.

People are sharing their concern and sadness over the Newtown school shooting. What are your thoughts? Share then with CNN iReport.

Watch CNN's LIVE TV coverage of the Connecticut elementary school shooting as the story continues to unfold.

Details continue to emerge about what precisely happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Here is a timeline of events that compiles the latest reporting.

An interactive tribute to the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. December 18, 2012 -- Updated 1811 GMT (0211 HKT)

With memories of last week's school massacre still hauntingly fresh, most students in Newtown will return to the classroom with their sense of normalcy shattered. December 18, 2012 -- Updated 1537 GMT (2337 HKT)

Friday began with the mundane. A chilly December day, Christmas on many residents' minds.December 18, 2012 -- Updated 1530 GMT (2330 HKT)

Placing yourself in the path of flying bullets to protect innocents. It's a job description fitting for a soldier or police officer, but not for a school teacher.December 18, 2012 -- Updated 1454 GMT (2254 HKT)

Black vans with tinted windows took the place of school buses carrying dozens of elementary school children. December 18, 2012 -- Updated 1519 GMT (2319 HKT)

Ken Henggeler poured his grief into the thing he loved most: carpentry.December 18, 2012 -- Updated 1521 GMT (2321 HKT)

Nearly three decades ago, a woman disappeared from the Connecticut town of Newtown, leaving behind a trail of questions. December 18, 2012 -- Updated 1849 GMT (0249 HKT)

Nancy Lanza was raising a quiet, socially awkward young man, the kind of teenager who, a former classmate recalled, would just go stand in the corner. December 17, 2012 -- Updated 1045 GMT (1845 HKT)

Robbie Parker has a message for the family of the gunman who killed his 6-year-old daughter and 19 of her school mates. December 17, 2012 -- Updated 1905 GMT (0305 HKT)

The suspect in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting took to his grave the reasons that compelled him to mow down more than two dozen people before taking his own life.December 17, 2012 -- Updated 1312 GMT (2112 HKT)

In some cases around the world, mass shootings have been a catalyst for changes in gun control laws.December 17, 2012 -- Updated 1949 GMT (0349 HKT)

Security experts predict what comes next: A strong reaction -- maybe an overreaction -- to school safety. And within months, it'll be back to cuttign security budgets.December 17, 2012 -- Updated 2111 GMT (0511 HKT)

Learn how to help the victims and families affected by the Connecticut school shooting tragedy.

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technology

Thursday, 20 December 2012

Killings draw new voices to social media

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