From headlines of racial injustice popping up as dismissible notifications to make-up influencers sharing stories of violent murders while applying their favorite eyeshadow, why would we think twice about casually seeing violence in the media? Another day another black man murdered by police, another school shooting, another woman sharing her story of intimate partner violence. Consuming violence has become the new normal. Stories such as these regularly make headlines, but according to crime reports from 2022, violent crime has been decreasing. The Council of Criminal Justice reported the number of homicides was 4% lower,  3.5% fewer aggravated assaults, and a 5% decrease in domestic violence compared to data from 2021 ¹. Although fewer reports of violent crime is good, the issue lies within how we consume violent media as a whole.

Before we write off all violence in the media as bad, there is some good that comes from seeing it across major social networks. Released camera footage brings us face to face with the injustices of the world we live in that demand immediate action. Cases such as Ahmaud Aubrey, George Floyd and incidents sparked by the pandemic, leading to increased violence towards Asian Americans are only a few examples of video footage that exposes disturbing and violent behavior toward minorities in America. The movements for change and reform, Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate arose from repeated instances of minority targeted crime. However, as wrong as violence in its many forms is, many of us accept that it is just a part of everyday life.

Anthony Downs in “Up and Down with Ecology – the issue attention cycle” maps out what he calls the dynamics of the issue attention cycle. According to Downs, we go through 5 stages: the pre-problem stage, alarmed discovery and euphoric enthusiasm, realizing the cost of significant progress, gradual decline of intense interest, and the post-problem stage. In the pre-problem stage, there is a social issue of concern that is not yet in the main media, however some may be aware and alarmed by the situation ² . For example, many racial issues until recent years seemed to be stuck in a pre-problem stage. Due to lack of mainstream attention, violence towards communities of color was not as openly discussed as today. It takes an explosive event with mass media coverage to break everything wide open, leading into the alarmed discovery and euphoric enthusiasm phase. In this phase we see nonstop footage of the violence of the situation and hear countless stories from people in our communities with similar experiences. This sparks us to brainstorm how to solve the issue and pushes for change, but all too quickly. We then hit a roadblock when we realize the cost of the progress we wish to make. In reality, progress for large-scale change is slow and arduous and can only be made well if we work from the bottom to the top, fixing the foundation before repairing the roof. Because making progress for powerful social change takes a great deal of time and energy, we slip into a decline of social interest. Even though those of us with the best intentions are willing to put in the work, if we have lost major media coverage and support of the issue it begins to slowly fade to the back of our everyday lives. Finally we enter the post-problem stage. Yes, everyone knows of the issue but the world keeps spinning. We shake our heads and change the channel. What can we do? Despite our best efforts to improve our communities and work to make them safe, there is always something lurking, threatening to tear down what we have built. Another case will inevitably be cracked open and follow the same unfortunate rise and fall. We have begun to see this cycle spin faster and faster as social media grows, with continuous access to media and sharing videos and reflections of these events. There is simply too much going on to keep up with it all.

Although the use of cameras has enabled perpetrators to be identified and shared content has revealed unpleasant truths of the world we live in, there is a downside. We are exposed to real-life violence at a moment’s notice. Because of the shock factor of this type of content, it spreads like wildfire across TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social apps. By the time the video is taken down, thousands of people have seen, shared, downloaded and re-uploaded the content no matter how graphic. Some may see and report, but others slip into Downs’ cycle. Two recent deaths, Khaseen Morris and Shanquella Robinson reveal the dark side of filming crimes through the bystander effect. The bystander effect occurs when the presence of others discourages an individual from intervening in an emergency situation. The greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is for one of them to provide help to the person in distress ³. Additionally, this effect is  tied to the diffusion of responsibility and social influence. Diffusion of responsibility is defined as a socio-psychological phenomenon whereby a person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when other bystanders or witnesses are present ⁴. Social influence are the cues we pick up from those around us impacting our behavior and response to a situation ⁵. These three elements working in tandem create an environment where we deflect responsibility and eventually ignore what we see. Even if we may not be the ones directly involved in violent acts by committing or filming them, it is all too easy to assume the problem is someone else’s when in fact it is a much bigger social issue that demands attention.

With these three elements in mind, we can begin to understand how we react to victims involved in violent crimes. A study titled “Desensitization to Media Violence” reported a decrease in empathy and sympathy for portrayed victims in movies ⁶. This model can easily be applied to TV shows and even life cases gives us an understanding of general reactions towards victims in real and fictitious settings. Normally seeing violent acts and human suffering in fictitious media inevitably leads to blurring the line between enjoying violent content and watching it for general awareness of an issue. For example, the rise of true crime entertainment has uncovered an interesting part of the internet where creators often film themselves doing makeup or other casual tasks while discussing the grim details of real life murders. Oftentimes, within the group of content consumers, the focus shifts away from the horrors the victims faced and to the perpetrator. Serial killer obsession, glamorization, and romanticization is a more or less a common outcome from this content and similar. Although many of us can see the unethicality of consuming real life violent content as entertainment, we often watch TV shows portraying violently graphic scenes. Considering Downs’ model and decreasing sympathy towards victims, we have a clear picture of overall numbness to violence.

With Generation Z being on the front line of this issue, we are able to observe overall reactions to such acts. How violence is processed, real or fictional, is not done in a healthy manner, especially for younger members of this generation. Much of Generation Z has directly impacted how violence is discussed and digested. It is no surprise to see commenters on social media resorting to jokes in response to traumatic events as a coping mechanism or making memes rooted in dark humor. These actions only work to belittle the severity of the situation. Considering the life changing events and headlines we have lived through and witnessed in the past three years alone, many of us from this generation may feel a sense of compassion fatigue leading to an unfazed nature regarding violent media. Compassion fatigue is a condition characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion leading to a diminished ability to empathize or feel compassion for others, or simply the loss of caring ⁷. Typically, compassion fatigue is seen in those who have jobs to care for others such as those in medical or law enforcement occupations. Interestingly, this term has slipped into general media especially in regard to serious social issues.

We are more than capable of change but often become discouraged when social change is not in immediate reach. Many of us truly care, but we don’t have the capacity to care solely about social issues in our nation when people in our everyday lives depend on us being emotionally present. This highlights the importance of collaborating for change. Change is often not meant to be accomplished alone but within community through plans to meet success in slow, steady, and consistent steps. If we can master unity, we can conquer and revolutionize our communities, nation, and the world.