How responsible--or complicit--is the media in publicizing violent acts which are invariably imitated?

Poll - Total Votes: 25

The media should be tried along with the murderers

They do more harm than good

It's important to expose evil at any cost

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You can only vote on one answer.

No wrong answers. What effect do you think having something like the Uvalde tragedy on the news and websites 24/7 has on fragile human psyches, some of whom are craving notoriety? You and I are probably repulsed by the footage of people running in terror from a lunatic, but I believe that video is appealing to far too many sick sociopathic individuals; they don't care HOW they get attention as long as they DO.

I think the media gets a pass on this, and I think it's wrong. No one seems to even THINK about it.

Don't forget that the media is NOT a public service; it is BIG BUSINESS, paid for by ad dollars from Big Pharma and corporations and car manufacturers.

Those of you who know me? Yes, I am indicting the very industry I work in. There are terrific people in TV, as well as cretins I wouldn't give you a nickel for.

Again, no wrong answers, tell me your opinions, please, without ad hominem attacks, those are subject to deletion.

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Changeisgonnacome · 61-69, F

There have been crimes that appeared in fiction first, then in reality. Obviously TV working.

LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

@Changeisgonnacome The problem as I see it is that we don't have a good mental health system in place. You know what I mean? I mean, I grew up watching horror movies, probably way too young to be doing so. And I play them violent video games. Just last night I was playing Cyberpunk 2077, which is set in a dystopian future apparently run by the Republican party. And I watch the news. Every one of these mass shootings, I've been keeping abreast of.

You know what I've never once had the urge to do? Go down to a gun show and find a loophole to get myself an AR-15 and start taking the lives of innocent children. That's because I have the ability to differentiate reality from entertainment.

I'm not trying to be insulting to the type of people who can't differentiate. What I'm saying is we need to help people like that. Did you know that before the invention of TV and movies, people blamed violent books for people committing violent crimes? Can you imagine? They wanted to ban books because some people went out and did what the books said. That's exactly the type of short-sighted mentality the people have who are calling for a ban on video games, or a ban on violent TV shows.

What we need in this society is someone explaining to children that what we see on tv, in movies, and in video games is just entertainment. And beyond that, we need more mental health specialists in our elementary schools to catch these young people at an early enough stage in their development that we can help them learn and repair any emerging mental conditions.

Unfortunately, that could take years, or even decades, and it wouldn't fix the existing mental illnesses in our young adults. And that's why it's such a complicated problem. Sure, the short-term solution is to increase gun restrictions until we can figure out who is sane enough to handle an assault rifle without getting the urge to mow down some children.

But we have to learn how to weed out people who are going to get that urge.