By Edward M. Bury, APR, MA (aka The PRDude)
In the hours after learning about another mass shooting in the United States of America — this one having taken place on July 4, 2022, Independence Day, in Highland Park, an affluent community 27 miles from Chicago — I immediately considered the prospect of sharing thoughts in this space.
Like any rational human being, I was horrified by the news. As details were unveiled via television and online reports, the genesis of this latest massacre of innocents resembled previous scenarios: A young, white, very disturbed man had access to military-style firearms, planned an attack, and used the weapons to kill indiscriminately.
As I write this, authorities have charged the suspect with seven counts of murder; more changes are pending.
Now, four days following the horror, more on the suspect has surfaced, including his obsession with what can be clearly perceived as the dark and sinister sides of social media. That news prompted this post.
Yesterday, as I reached the CTA Logan Square Blue Line station to catch the el train for my commute to work, I was taken aback by the advertisements shown here for Webtoon, an online source of animated stories all available for free. As noted on the site, Webtoon is “home to thousands of creator-owned content with amazing, diverse visions from all over the world.”
Clearly, these stories — with titles like “Grim Reaper in Training” — are not in the same genre as Mickey Mouse and Charlie Brown. Some have been viewed and liked millions of times.
What grabbed me by the lapels was the advertisement claiming the site “basically invented doomscrolling.” As noted in this definition: “Doomscrolling and doomsurfing are new terms referring to the tendency to continue to surf or scroll through bad news, even though that news is saddening, disheartening, or depressing. Many people are finding themselves reading continuously bad news about COVID-19 without the ability to stop or step back.”
So, from another perspective, Webtoon is marketing itself to the younger demographic as a platform that perpetuates fear, uncertainty and misery.
Really?
The questions I have: How many other unhinged, disturbed, angry young men (or women) out there now are regularly doomscrolling or doomsurfing? Did this online practice have a concerted influence on the suspect in the Highland Park shootings? What can be done to prevent the unbridled viewing of disturbing animation from influencing others to commit horrific crimes?
I trust the people of Highland Park and other communities wracked by gun violence would ask the same questions.
Prdude's Blog 