Social Desensitization in the Media Culture Space

Annotation

This article examines the mediatization of violence and destruction, which leads to social desensitization. It provides an overview of research and issues related to the formation and promotion of aggressive content in contemporary media culture. Using examples from the aesthetics of video games, fashion, and the entertainment industry, it presents the sources of the “culture of violence” and the risks of its legitimization in social consciousness. The theoretical basis of this work is provided by E. Fromm's study of destructiveness, L. Berkovets's theory of aggression priming, P. Langman's theory of school shooting psychology, D. Khapaeva and J.L. Foltyn's theories of the aestheticization of death, and J. Naisbitt's theory of electronic violence. The article explores the specific features of the promotion of destructive ideas in online communities and subcultures. It also highlights the sources and factors that shape the overvalued attitude toward violence and destructiveness in contemporary media culture. The connections between the liberal worldview and the acceptance of violence as the norm are revealed. This study allows us to understand the phenomenon of social desensitization as a societal response to the promotion of violent images in the media across multiple levels (sociocultural, psychological, mass media, existential, ethical, and aesthetic). The results of this study can be used for regulatory guidance in media production as a form of humanitarian expertise.

Keywords

• social desensitization
• aggression
• violence
• media culture
• values and anti-values
• mediatization
• viral effect
• liberal values
• destruction
• aestheticization
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