Our world can be seen through a click on our devices, as we are now more interconnected than ever before. People are able to speak their minds and type up any comment at any time of the day. More often than not, we find ourselves reading malicious or insensitive content that’s often recommended to be ignored or even contains disclaimers. According to the Pew Research Center, 41% of American adults have experienced online harassment, while 66% have witnessed others being harassed. The types of harassment range from offensive name calling to severe behaviors like physical threats, stalking, and online bullying. These margins are huge in the retrospect of the vast internet, that anyone can encounter these acts of violence.
Such violent content can also appear in various forms, including video games, movies, shows, and advertisements. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), over 60% of programs contain violence, which causes people, including children, to inherently believe violence is a source of entertainment. This normalization of violence in the media raises concerns about its impact on our society as people have become more desensitized.
One of the biggest concerns with violent content becoming a form of entertainment is that it can make violent behavior seem normal or acceptable. Research by the American Psychological Association (APA) has shown that exposure to violence in media, like television and video games, can desensitize individuals to violence and increase aggressive behavior. The study has also found that children who watch violent content are more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior as they grow older. For example, the FBI conducted a study on active shooters and found that many had a pattern of exhibited behaviors before their attacks, which included consuming violent media. An example of this is the case of Adam Lanza, who shot and killed 26 people including children at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012. It was reported that close family and friends knew him to have played violent video games extensively before the attack.
The motives that cause people to commit these violent acts without any hesitation or empathy also derive from repeated exposure to violent content, which leads to detached emotional responses. The concept of deindividuation ties to individuals losing their sense of self-awareness and personal responsibility in a group setting. Going back to the American Psychological Association (APA), watching violence in the media becomes enjoyable and does not result in the anxiousness that would be expected from seeing such imagery. Online anonymity can accentuate this phenomenon, leading people to engage in behavior they wouldn’t normally consider acceptable. Discussed in the Yale Daily News, as people see others posting hateful comments, they may feel less accountable for their actions and more prone to act out violently.
Continuing further, the accessibility of violent content on various platforms, such as social media and streaming services, makes it easier for people to encounter such material without seeking it out. Algorithms that are not taking the effort to restrict these types of content can amplify the presence of violent media, further contributing to the desensitization. A study from UC Davis shows that the lack of content moderation policies on social media platforms have led to an increase in hate speech and shock content. In 2017, the Myanmar military launched a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya Muslim minority, resulting in the deaths, torture, and displacement of thousands, according to the United Nations. An ill intended hate speech group was formed on Facebook against the Rohingya, which further increased the violence towards the minority group. This still continues to be an issue on the platform, as Facebook struggled to detect and moderate such content, which influences newcomers to have easy access to see the insensitive content.
Shock content has also become easy to stumble across, as in 2025, Instagram users reported seeing a flood of violent and graphic content in their Reels feeds due to an error in the platform’s content moderation system. One of the biggest controversies in regards to the monteration happened on the Youtube Kids platform, according to the New York Times, outraged parents have reportedly seen videos intended for children include blatant violent thumbnails and questionable content. Alternative platforms such as 4chan or Discord, commonly known as discussion forums, often have smaller staff and fewer resources for content moderation, allowing users to post violent content more freely. The lack of striction and the use of encryption and privacy settings make these platforms attractive to people and the youth.
The repeated exposure and normalization of violence being easily accessible on our devices have adversely affected the mental health of our society and contributed to violent behavior. Communities should include implementing educational and awareness programs, preferably in schools as the youth are the most impressionable. Parents should monitor and restrict their child’s content consumption, as algorithms can be easily bypassed. There should also be promotion of positive content, and support systems for victims of online harassment and violence. It’s crucial for parents, educators, and policymakers to be aware of the potential effects of violent content and should take the early signs of violence in people they know, and or their children seriously.
