Spontaneous Collective Behavior
1- Watching a confrontation between two people in a public place while the crowd signals to people around them and tape what is going on.
My husband and I were vacationing in a foreign country when we witnessed a physical altercation between two people. When two men began to fight in public, bystanders were immediately responsive to the situation. The first act of many was to call the police and report the details of what was going on. Others, possibly seeing that the incident had already been reported or possibly not caring, rushed to get closer the men. Many were armed with video recording devices which they used to capture the details of the match. A crowd gathered around as the police arrived and the paramedics attempted to reach the injured and treat their wounds after one of the person involved in the fight shot the other one. My husband and I ran away when we heard the gun shot but we could still see how the crowd reacted to the event in the distance. The police officers and the paramedics tried to keep the people away from the scene but a lot of people remained close to the site and tried to tape the events with their electronic devices. We felt very worried and scared after this event and even tried to change the dates of our trip to return earlier.
2- Founding out that my grandfather had passed away.
Discovering that my Grandfather had passed away was a tragic and heartbreaking realization. It brought sad emotions to me and a large number of people in my family. These emotions prevailed for several months. The way in which I learned of his passing was an example of spontaneous collective behavior. Those that learned first of the news were quick to spread it to others via social media rather than traditional means. In the past most people would have been notified via telephone from a relative in the nearby geographic area so to avoid