Last night one of the most controversial documentaries ever broadcast, was shown on Channel 4. “The Murder Trial” documented the retrial of a man called Nat Fraser, who was accused of murdering his wife 14 years ago, and was sent down for murder in the original case. After a long appeal, he had been granted a retrial under Scottish law, and the decision was made to have remote cameras in the court to give the public an insight to what goes on in a serious criminal trial.

As the documentary was shown, users flocked to social media platforms to give their opinion and share their thoughts on what they were watching. The case lasted five weeks at the High Court in Edinburgh, so there was no way an hour documentary could show all the evidence given, and therefore the public could only form opinions on what they were shown.

Nat Fraser 100% guilty no doubt about it

— Keiran Stewart (@kezstewart34) July 9, 2013

The Murder Trial is absolutely fascinating. That Hector Dick definitely did it!

— David Sammon (@DavidJSammon) July 9, 2013

Amazed that ppl claim to know better than a jury that has pursued a case for 5 weeks, after seeing 2 hrs of edited footage #themurdertrial

— Cassiopeia (@Cassiopeia01) July 9, 2013

Throughout the night, 1339 tweets were sent using the hashtag #TheMurderTrial and a further 1536 tweets were set featuring the keywords “The Murder Trial”. This could also currently be in relation to the George Zimmerman case that is currently taking place in America which has taken social media by storm.

Social TV is becoming a huge part of our lives, with people instantly turning to their social media platforms to join in conversations, debates and give their opinions on soaps, documentaries and increasingly, sport.

When social TV started, quiz shows and reality TV shows were using hashtags to engage their audience and make viewers feel involved as if their opinion really mattered to the show. Tweets were often read out on chat shows, and messages of support for athletes and sporting teams were sent in their thousands over the Olympics and Wimbledon.

The problem lies however, in the way social TV is becoming incorporated more and more into the serious facets of real life situations. Huge debates have started taking place over Twitter during political events such as the general election, and currently social media is being used fervently by lawyers as part for the #SaveUKJustice campaign to prevent new changes being put in place to stop legal aid.

Social Media is great in that it is concise and fast and takes place in real-time - this is great when it comes to breaking news or getting a message across, but there are potential problems when informed opinions on Social Media help spread falsehoods rapidly. Rumours and information leaks being sent anonymously across Social Media can cause all kinds of problems and leave us with a distorted and factually untrue opinion.

So, do TV and Social Media work well alongside one another? Does the combination help us engage in current affairs through multiple channels and allow us to put our opinions across quickly and efficiently? Or do we actually get bogged down in conversations and news stories that we may not actually know much about; failing to acknowledge important facts and evidence in serious situations - leading to potentially negative events and conclusions?