Mass Shootings and the Online World: From A Subcultural Theory of Criminology

Mass shootings continue making headlines around the U.S. with some of the deadliest shootings taking place long after Columbine. Despite contributing a small percentage to the statistics of gun violence, mass shootings leave devastation behind and strain communities. It is only after the fact that evident signs of an incoming shooting are found in online spaces, much too late after the damage. Nevertheless, prior research fails to take the role of social media and subculture into consideration in the understanding of mass shootings. For instance, past research assumes that mass shooting perpetrators are “lone wolves,” in the physical sense and ignores online networks and groups the perpetrator may have had. Therefore, this research aims to fill the void by examining the relationship of social media to mass shootings under the lens of subcultural theory of criminology using the Violence Project’s 2023 Mass Shooter Database. The results show that the increase in the number of social media users is associated with an increase in mass shooting incidents and mass shooting deaths, reflecting subcultural theory’s application that online groups and social media provide a location of encouragement and support for individuals experiencing strains to find mass shootings as a legitimate solution to their problems

Author

• Salazar, Sofia

Language

• English

Keyword

• mass shootings
• social media
• surveillance
• subcultures

Date created

• 2024

Type of Work

• Master's Thesis

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Criminology

Degree

• M.A.

Advisor

• Ishizawa, Hiromi

Committee Member(s)

• Bustamante, Carlos

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/5138jf68r