There have been some studies about it before but a new study about the same thing could attract more attention than normal with what has happened over the last week; two deadly mass shootings, one in Georgia and the other in Colorado.
Old studies going back 30 years have found possible links between violence in movies and video games and violence in real life. But this new study done by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has found possible links between shootings and gun violence on popular prime time TV shows such as CSI.
Their report finds the odds of guns appearing in violent movie scenes and in real-life killings involving young people in the United States has skyrocketed by more than 80 percent over the past 20 years.
The co-author of the study says they “found that gun use substantially increased from 2000 to 2018 on prime-time TV dramas in the U.S., a trend that paralleled the use of firearms in homicides.” And he adds this comment; “Just as the entertainment media contributed to the uptake of cigarettes among vulnerable youth, our findings suggest that it may be doing the same for guns.”
We all want to know why some people do what the killers in these two recent deadly shootings did. And there are likely multiple reasons. But finding the causes is the first step toward finding the solutions.
(Photo Getty Images)
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