Over the last two decades, social media has played a pivotal role in accessing news, entertainment and more access to each other’s lives. With this accessibility comes more obtainability to violent content, which begs the question: Are young adults becoming desensitized to violence being displayed on social media?
When social media was first introduced to the world, many people used it to connect with friends and family, sharing photos of places they’ve been to, and keeping memories of good times.
However, in recent years, we have seen social media take a different turn. Considering the recent events such as the killing of Charlie Kirk, the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and the uptick in mass shootings, the atmosphere of social media has encapsulated a less sensitive world when it comes to what is being put on feeds.
“The fact that we can see something like this and not flinch an eye,” Sitanshu Patil, a first-year business administration student, said, “I was coming back from band practice, seen the video and acted like nothing happened, when something like that in the past would’ve scarred people.”
This comes after Charlie Kirk, a political commentator, was shot and killed while addressing an audience on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. According to AP News, Kirk was a close ally of Donald Trump and played a pivotal role in rallying young Republican voters.
“Mainly, the pandemic, when everybody was on their phone, had a big impact on desensitizing violence, Kahmari Isaac, a second-year biology pre-med student, said. “Going back to the videos of George Floyd it was kind of the start and would trickle down to what happened.”
Isaac emphasized the change in how violence is perceived.
“I feel like with the Charlie Kirk situation, it gave people more of a perspective on how to go about situations,” he said. “You don’t really see people dying right there on social media like that.”
This phenomenon isn’t entirely new. The seeds of desensitization were planted during the constant coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks, which established a new atmosphere of intense coverage of graphic imagery. Social media has amplified this exposure, removing editorial filters and showing audiences raw violence directly to our personal devices.
“Seeing 9/11, it made me more prepared if something were to happen that was out of my control,” Isaac said. “It made me more prepared to see something like that going forward.”
In a study by Psychology Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that emotional desensitization is linked to high violence exposure, as indicated by increased mental and physical problems.
The ongoing conflict in Gaza exemplifies how violence has become normalized content. Graphic images and videos from bombing aftermaths circulate freely, sometimes without content warnings or context. This constant stream of violence is known to create emotional detachment that is necessary for mental survival in an online environment.
“Being around violence and seeing that type of stuff in video games will definitely desensitize an entire population,” Patil said. He emphasized that this desensitization extends beyond digital spaces—it leaks into real life, and entertainment.