School shootings, mass killings are 'contagious,' study finds

And it's the media's fault.

The study, published in July the journal PLOS ONE, found evidence that school shootings and mass killings -- defined as four or more deaths -- spread "contagiously," and 20% to 30% of such killings appear to be the result of "infection." The contagion period lasts about 13 days, researchers found.

Researchers gathered records of school shootings and mass killings from several data sets and fit them into a mathematical "contagion model." The spread they found was not dependent on location, leading researchers to believe that national media coverage of a mass shooting might play a role. On average, mass shootings occur about once every two weeks in the United States and school shootings happen about once a month, the study said. Sauce

We also have this point

Katherine Newman, provost of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and co-author of "Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings," said media coverage may prompt copycat crimes, but shining the national spotlight on mass and school shootings can have benefits, too. It encourages students and adults to come forward with information about suspicious people. Sauce

So what's the best way to report Mass Shootings? I don't have access to the full study I'm curious to know if it's the handling of the story is what makes it more "contagious??"

Seems to me there's some exaggeration as to how often a "mass" shooting occurs, but yes, msm can spread such things, just ask those who spend billions on advertising.

a reply to: VoidHawk

Well I think it's an understatement. In September I remember reading about two school (college) shootings that were either separated by a day at max, they may have been from one day to the next. Those were not mass shootings, but still school shootings. As to mass shootings, I'll have to look into the matter, but there is no doubt these things are not all that uncommon.

Monkey see monkey do.

Solution:

Tune out of the idiot box.

originally posted by: VoidHawk
Seems to me there's some exaggeration as to how often a "mass" shooting occurs, but yes, msm can spread such things, just ask those who spend billions on advertising.

I can't remember exactly which documentation, it was about a mass shooting in a german school and it was also mentioned how the media portrays such mass shooters. The basically give them exactly what they wanted, fame for killing people. They sensationalize about how people were killed, which weapons were used, show the pictures of posing killers etc.

This is a problem which is going on since the first shooting - it's nothing new the media over exaggerates.

a reply to: TheAmazingYeti

The best way to report a mass shooting is to just report that it happened.

We don't need 24/7 media coverage of what the shooters landlords friend has to say.

Stop giving them so much media attention. Stop making them celebrities.

A narcissist with zero skill cannot become famous, but can become infamous various ways. Posting a convoluted manifesto and going on a rampage seems to be an easy way to get months of coverage. Add in the many drugs we are poisoning our kids brain chemistry with to the pot as well isn't going to help much either.

originally posted by: rockintitz
a reply to: TheAmazingYeti

The best way to report a mass shooting is to just report that it happened.

We don't need 24/7 media coverage of what the shooters landlords friend has to say.

Stop giving them so much media attention. Stop making them celebrities.

Exactly these days we have 24 hour news channels that just bang on and on an on .....people are feeling low ..with the rising inequality people are looking to feel big and noticed...sadly some believe that killing others is the way to achieve that and lets face it works as you said celebrity status....

a reply to: TheAmazingYeti

I'll go out on a limb and say that the "contagious" aspect may be induced by the mentality of, "well, if my friends are doing it...."

Hear me out.

I don't think that all of these killers are friends, but I think that our society has devolved into the mentality with some people who don't really have actual human, in-person friends with whom they connect deeply, that they see people on the internet with whom they connect as being their friends, even if they do not know that person at all. It harkens back to the old cliché that misery loves company.

Our youth and society have been somehow duped into thinking that people behind a computer or on a TV screen are relatable, normal, likable people with whom we can have intimate connections. That is not the case, yet I think that some people--social outcasts, for one, like many of these mass killers are reported to be--believe it to be so. It's a fantasy life that they have allowed (or been unable to stop) to become reality, with deadly consequences.

And the more that these killings are sensationalized, the more of these types of people latch on to what they do and see it as okay for people like them.

I'm no psychologist, but this has been a part of our modern society that I strive to keep my son from diving into--the world of fake friends on a screen.