The internet is all a-twitter with news and views on the rioting and looting in London. The spark that lit the fuse for the appalling scenes was, we are told, the fatal shooting on Thursday of Mark Duggan, a 29 year old father of four.

Not surprisingly, the majority of people voicing an opinion have declaimed the rioters as opportunistic thieves and vandals. But before too long there was a new kind of outlook joining the conversation… who - or what - is to blame.

Bored teenagers with nothing to do? A repressed community's outpouring of frustration? A backlash against the new age of austerity we are currently living in?

No. Not so much. The real culprit, according to at least one report, is BBM, BlackBerry's instant messenger service.

So, can it really be true that BlackBerry is to blame for the London riots?

Of course, BlackBerry is clearly the true villain of the weekend. This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read. I know, that's a very bold statement, but I actually think it is. Following my rant on Twitter about it, @freestyleint made a very good point by giving the following example. This is, in essence, like blaming a car manufacturer because its car was used as a getaway vehicle in a bank robbery.

You see? Senseless. Whichever way these people chose to communicate is irrelevant. If it hadn't been via BBM, it would have been via another communications channel, and being in 2011, there are quite a few out there. Whether it's using WhatsApp, standard SMS, or guess what... a phone call, these people will still have found a way to talk to each other.

This is nothing but a poor distraction from what is actually happening.

So, would I be justified in saying that considering that potentially 92% of all the people involved in the riots are on Facebook, it means that Facebook is the home of 'looters' and that we now have to stereotype the people that use the social networking platform? No. I wouldn't be. But instead of focusing on the actual issue, and perhaps trying to reach out to these people via the media to prevent these riots from spreading, everyone would rather look for someone to blame. I guess that's the easy option for journalists. And there we have it, breaking news. It's BlackBerry's fault.

The police are in way over their heads on this one, for various reasons. Some would argue that certain areas of London, such as Tottenham, have always received a raw deal from the police. With an institution like the Metropolitan Police who have on two occasions in the past decade proclaimed that they are "institutionally racist", you might be forgiven for thinking that maybe, just maybe, this was inevitable. There is, of course, a clear line which has been crossed and what these riots have turned into is nothing more than youths vandalising and destroying businesses and homes just for the sake of it. Joining in because they can. What started off as a peaceful protest, escalated into something terrible. Something that society will pay for, for a long time.

The clean-up will be a lengthy, expensive but contained operation. The repairs to homes and businesses will take longer, but will happen.

Dealing with the root cause of the violent outbursts though is an altogether trickier undertaking. One made all the more difficult by conveniently sweeping the issues under the carpet and pointing the finger of blame at something like the internet or mobile phones. Perhaps it is human nature to look for the bogeyman, some external force we can blame in order to absolve ourselves of responsibility. But whether it is something simple like your day-to-day chores or something as complex as the fall-out from days of looting and destruction, this tempting short-cut thinking will not lead to a lasting resolution.

Jen