School Shootings: A Social Media Analysis

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In this globalisation era, the media has the power to influence people’s perceptions towards the issues facing the society today. They can either have a negative or a positive impact depending on the way they transmit, disseminate, or interpret the information received. School shootings is one of the issues that have attracted media attention. Here, media may refer to the mainstream media houses that report any issues of interest or social media sites through which people communicate throughout the world. As Sumiala and Tikka (2010) state, reporting school shootings has turned out to be a media disaster due to various reasons. Therefore, exploring school shootings in relation to the media shows how the later influences reality.
According …show more content…

According to the author, the manner in which people react to instances of violence through the media is an indication of the link between social imagination and the media. Media personnel construct images of reality when reporting on cases of violence. This influences how the public perceives the different issues that the society faces. For example, the reality created by the media on school shootings influence how the public understands this tragedy, the possible causes, effects, and other related issues. Just like Muschert (2009), Ruddock (2013) refers to the Columbine High School massacre. He mentions the intense media coverage that followed this incident making it the yardstick for the assessment of other similar incidents thereon. The incident also made school shootings key reference points when investigating the media’s role in constructing reality through …show more content…

From the responses, political outcomes emerge. The author argues that violence is often used as a framing tool as it has the ability to draw audiences. He also mentions that studies on school shootings have led many to believe that commercial value causes media violence to thrive. Media violence has also been associated with the tastes of the younger population. However, it is clear that the younger audiences are not solely to blame for this violence. They detest the inhumane acts even when they appear to be making fun of the incidents and sharing horrific images via the Internet.
In conlusion, the media redefines reality. Media personnel have the power to influence social reality. The manner in which a certain incident is presented through the media influences how people understand it and remember it in the future. The media must therefore be very keen when addressing sensitive issues such as school shootings and other forms of violence.
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