Violence in the Media

How does our reality become distorted by media? The constant presence of violence can quickly desensitize an individual or community. Turn on the TV, and violence is there. Play a video game where the goal is to kill as many people as possible. In music, on social media, and in movies, gore and violence are often presented to the viewer.
My parents, who did not grow up with the internet, are deeply disturbed by gory horror movies and TV shows, that my brother and I have been comfortable watching since elementary school. Although this may simply be a matter of preference, the increased consumption of media between generations can't be ignored. I can't help but wonder if my enjoyment of horror movies has been influenced by the violence I have been seeing on the internet for years. I've also noticed that my parent's reaction to news stories varies greatly from mine. Hearing about 'Four Dead' is sad to me, as it would be anyone, but my parents definitely react in a much more emotional way than I or my brother do. I think seeing 'fake' or artificial violence throughout my life has led to me feeling less impacted by real-world violence.
According to the Psychiatric Times, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the two boys who committed the Columbine High School massacre, lived in "pathological environment."Emanuel Tanay, MD, a retired Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Wayne State University and a forensic psychiatrist said, “Their lives centered around violent video games.” This is not to say that everyone who plays violent video games will shoot up their school - obviously, that is untrue. However, it is not unreasonable to believe that being exposed to artificial violence could influence those who are already unstable.
While we may never know how violence we see constantly on the internet affects the population, it is a very interesting thing to consider.

Link: https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/child-adolescent-psychiatry/violence-media-what-effects-behavior