Violence in media has always existed, yet it seems more recently it has become more common and much more accessible, especially in young children's media. Nowadays it is almost unavoidable - seen in the news, taking over social media and becoming a common factor in many films / shows. But how does this affect us?
Many studies show consuming violent media can lead to attention spam problems, impulsivity and increased aggression. Children are especially vulnerable to this, and it doesn't help that lots of this violent media is aimed at younger audiences. Video games such as GTA and Call of Duty for example, where the player acts out multiple crimes and engages in shooting and murder.
Some may claim that it is all just fun and games, however this violence can be taken a step further. Slenderman for example, a character who started as a creepypasta story spread around the internet, then made its way into many games, and then in 2018 a film adaptation was created. In May of 2014, two 12-year-old girls wanting to 'impress' the fictional character lead their friend into the woods and stabbed her 19 times, merely missing her heart. Here is an interview by the victim of the crime.
Moving on to social media, a place arguably more dangerous as users can interact with the content they consume and many of the sites are unregulated or poorly regulated, allowing more violent content to be spread. A big-name example is twitter, regular users of twitter will be familiar with its popular 'gore' videos, whom many find pleasure and humour in watching. A recent example of this is Carl Reimer, a twitch streamer who shot himself in the head on a livestream. Whilst this did take place on the platform twitch, the clip showing the event was spread to many more viewers on twitter, with most of the consumers not knowing what they were getting themself into before clicking on the video. This left many people shocked and scarred from witnessing the event.
A lesser-known site popular for violence is 4chan. The site began as an innocent imageboard used for shared interests while keeping users' anonymity. However, it grew and is now more well known for being a 'hotbed of the alt right' and home for neo-Nazis to spread their hatred. Having access to these sites is a gateway for children and vulnerable people to be radicalised and join extremist viewpoints. Similarly, a website called 8chan was used by John T Earnest (a terrorist who committed an arson attack on a mosque) to post a letter of inspiration before the crime took place.
We even see it in our music, mainly rap such as 'Murder on my mind' by YNW Melly which recounts a real murder that he committed and is in trial for.
Overall, while there may be other factors involved in the creation of those who commit crimes, it is undeniable that consuming this media desensitises us to violence - making us less empathetic and can lead to a wanting to recreate the crimes. A supporting study is linked below.
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