School Shooters and Violent Media

Columbine… Virginia Tech…the names conjure up terrible images of death and mental illness. What makes some kids turn violent and how can they be identified before tragedy strikes? The FBI recently released a report profiling some common traits among school shooters, one of which was a fascination with violent media. School shooters are often isolated from and bullied by their classmates, which may lead to this immersion in media. While the Columbine shooters were linked to their violent music preferences, school shooters are devoted to the Internet and violent video games.

Many speculate that media violence is somehow linked to these tragedies, but what does the scientific research show about the actual consequences of violent media?

In one major study of 3,127 eighth graders, the children completed a survey that measured their alienation, aggressiveness, anger, and sensation seeking, as well as their violent movie exposure and their Internet and video game use. Students who sought sensation and who were aggressive were more likely to use violent media. Those teens who are disconnected from family or school are more likely to seek out antisocial media.

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Issue: August 2007