Gun violence, more specifically, school shootings in America have sparked much international concern in the arena of education. In 2022 alone, Americans have seen 46 school shootings that left 131 people killed or injured. People often debate about the proposed solutions to this problem, the most popular of which is gun reform. However, I wish to examine a facet of this problem that peers at an often overlooked aspect of why these shootings take place.
We often think that identifying a problem and being made aware of it is the first step to solving it. However, the case of America refutes this in a way. After all, there is no other country on earth where such vast discourse on guns takes place. Nowadays, almost every form of media entertainment (including a plethora of shows and songs) include something on the issue. I, personally, cannot count the number of times I have seen TV series that have whole episodes solely based on the theme of school shootings. Massive media campaigns can also be found with relative ease.
But perhaps, this awareness is, in a way, adding fuel to the fire. After all, the situation in America is not an active conflict, and the shooters are always children. They resort to these actions because they come from a position of unhappiness, loneliness, and discontentment, etc. These are isolated children who want to be seen and heard, and unfortunately, this is the best way they can come up with to get attention. In recent times, as school shootings have been tracked more extensively, it has been discovered that many perpetrators often cite the media coverage in the aftermath of a school shooting as the equivalent to being seen, something they had missed out on their whole lives.
Of course, this whole situation is quite different to the course content we’ve explored in the sense that we have often seen the issues of children in developing countries, and so, it is quite incomparable to those grass-root causes, effects, and consequences. While gun control would be beneficial (as can be witnessed by countries like Australia), it is important to identify this as one of the causes because ultimately, unhappy and troubled children spell doom for society (in the long run if not in the short run) and it should be the job of the education system to cater to these children, whether through psychological aid from an early age, or by other methods.
Your blog gave me an interesting new perspective that I had not previously considered, and it is understandable that gun violence seems to have become a highly effective way to gain attention and fame (though not for the correct reasons). Media more or less hands this idea on a platter to troubled children. However, while I do agree that gun violence is a multi-layered issue, I still believe that gun control laws are the fastest and most effective solution to the problem. Will they solve all crimes? No. Will they help troubled teenagers? Also no. But they will prevent school shootings from being possible, which will save lives. The attackers need to be given therapy and ways to improve their…
I gazed at the article at first! What an innovative approach to discuss media influences on students nowadays. While reading the blog, I thought about different objectives that could lead "children" to this stage. What could be the possible factors that might count in there? and in light of education and conflict discussions and my basic research over the issue, here are my few insights over the issue.
When i researched about the topic, to my surprise, almost all of the causes which I could think as the reason for this issue, were there.
Based on WHO report, here are some of the causes which lead children to do this. They want to get back at those who have…
The first challenge here would be addressing the kid of cnoflict we're in. Yes this isn't your quintessential war where there is the typical kind of violence but it is still an emergency. It can maybe be termed as a passive conflict or something along those lines but it definately isn't 'not' conflict. We must get to the root of what perpetuates this problem and what is it that is keeping it from ending. Research should go into finding out weather media reporting even is the main problem here becuase historically, as you mentioned, awareness is the first step. May be we need to consider 'how' we report such issues and how media portrays the shooters. With that being said,…
I think there are many layers present when it comes to the pressing subject of gun violence in America. While I agree with your point of how the gun control laws are not the only factor to consider to solve this issue, I do think they are the most effective way to control this situation right now. Yes, a lot of school shooters are struggling with mental health illnesses or issues but a lot of them use these issues to absolve themselves of any guilt surrounding their actions; both personally and legally. Therefore, gun control is imperative to guarantee that obtaining a license is done through undergoing a highly selective process. Moreover, there needs to be a regulation of policies…
Recently, I came across a paper by James N. Meindl and Jonathan W. Ivy that essentially claimed that mass shootings may be subject to a copycat effect or contagion effect. This result implies that some behaviours can spread quickly through a population. The media seems to be substantially to blame for giving the template for mass shootings. There's a good chance that media-sparked copying goes beyond horrific shootings. Mass shootings, suicide, and other extreme occurrences like domestic terrorism and racially motivated murders have all been linked to a media influence.