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Absurd that 2021-2024 saw massively more shootings than 1966-2020 combined. Clearly it’s getting out of hands. What’s the reason behind this huge rise?

by m4r1k 2y ago

chneu 2y ago
Without any research I'd wager mental health among teens and young adults is very bad. They don't really have a future. At least not a fun one to look forward to.
morgengold 2y ago
No one knows for sure, but if I take the perspective of a socially alienated young person who is angry, resentful, and feels a growing desire for revenge, I would say hours of screen time, social media dynamics [1], and widespread economic insecurities only worsen the situation. It is easy to become resentful and aggressive when you are isolated and feel left behind. Additionally, it is much easier to become radicalized as an isolated individual online. I believe that in the last century, it was more difficult to become radicalized from your own bedroom, and people had more social interactions, even if they weren't actively seeking them out. [1] Anxiety surges in GenZ around its introduction: https://jonathanhaidt.com/social-media/ https://jonathanhaidt.com/social-media/
_zagj 2y ago
I suspect the copycat effect is a large part of it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shooting_contagion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shooting_contagion The media has historically, starting with Columbine, been extremely irresponsible when it comes to school shootings, showing little of the discretion that it does when it comes to youth suicide (for which they've adopted professional standards informed by CDC, WHO, etc. recommendations: https://afsp.org/ethicalreporting/ https://afsp.org/ethicalreporting/), to the point that it's given perpetrators fame that's endured decades after their demise: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/us/school-shootings-columbine.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/us/school-shootings-colum... And they're doing this not just out of recklessness, but out of a pretty clear bias and desire to leverage these events to produce support for gun control.
- anigbrowl 2y ago
  Youi're showing a lot of cognitive bias here. It's very reasonable for the media to cover mass casualty events, that's definitely their job. Another thing that has changed (which you haven't addressed at all) is that there are communities of mass shooting enthusiasts online who collect data on them, lionize the perpetrators, spread their manifestos, and encourage others to commit similar acts. People write guides with a mixture of justification for motives and sharing of practical techniques and advice, similar in format to the magazines periodically published by Al Qaeda. At least one such outfit has been designated as a terrorist group in several countries and several of its members have been arrested and are facing criminal charges.
  - CompanionCubee 2y ago
    >Another thing that has changed (which you haven't addressed at all) is that there are communities of mass shooting enthusiasts online who collect data on them, lionize the perpetrators, spread their manifestos Which is directly enabled by the coverage mentioned in GP.

Absurd that 2021-2024 saw massively more shootings than 1966-2020 combined. Clearly it’s getting out of hands. What’s the reason behind this huge rise?

by m4r1k 2y ago

Absurd that 2021-2024 saw massively more shootings than 1966-2020 combined. Clearly it’s getting out of hands. What’s the reason behind this huge rise?

chneu 2y ago

Without any research I'd wager mental health among teens and young adults is very bad. They don't really have a future. At least not a fun one to look forward to.

morgengold 2y ago

No one knows for sure, but if I take the perspective of a socially alienated young person who is angry, resentful, and feels a growing desire for revenge, I would say hours of screen time, social media dynamics [1], and widespread economic insecurities only worsen the situation. It is easy to become resentful and aggressive when you are isolated and feel left behind. Additionally, it is much easier to become radicalized as an isolated individual online. I believe that in the last century, it was more difficult to become radicalized from your own bedroom, and people had more social interactions, even if they weren't actively seeking them out. [1] Anxiety surges in GenZ around its introduction: https://jonathanhaidt.com/social-media/ https://jonathanhaidt.com/social-media/

_zagj 2y ago

I suspect the copycat effect is a large part of it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shooting_contagion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shooting_contagion The media has historically, starting with Columbine, been extremely irresponsible when it comes to school shootings, showing little of the discretion that it does when it comes to youth suicide (for which they've adopted professional standards informed by CDC, WHO, etc. recommendations: https://afsp.org/ethicalreporting/ https://afsp.org/ethicalreporting/), to the point that it's given perpetrators fame that's endured decades after their demise: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/us/school-shootings-columbine.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/us/school-shootings-colum... And they're doing this not just out of recklessness, but out of a pretty clear bias and desire to leverage these events to produce support for gun control.

anigbrowl 2y ago
Youi're showing a lot of cognitive bias here. It's very reasonable for the media to cover mass casualty events, that's definitely their job. Another thing that has changed (which you haven't addressed at all) is that there are communities of mass shooting enthusiasts online who collect data on them, lionize the perpetrators, spread their manifestos, and encourage others to commit similar acts. People write guides with a mixture of justification for motives and sharing of practical techniques and advice, similar in format to the magazines periodically published by Al Qaeda. At least one such outfit has been designated as a terrorist group in several countries and several of its members have been arrested and are facing criminal charges.
- CompanionCubee 2y ago
  >Another thing that has changed (which you haven't addressed at all) is that there are communities of mass shooting enthusiasts online who collect data on them, lionize the perpetrators, spread their manifestos Which is directly enabled by the coverage mentioned in GP.