When I think of most terrifying situation in the past decade, being involved in a mass shooting is the first thing that comes to mind. Whether it is the fear of becoming a victim or the fear of sending your child to school without a bullet proof backpack, it is one of the most controversial unsolved issues in this country. When reading Jonathan Hari’s book, Stolen Focus, his chapter on empathy sparked some curiosity on this issue. For example, Hari says:

“If you read a lot of novels, you will become better at understanding other people off the page. Perhaps fiction is a kind of empathy gym, boosting your ability to emphasize with other people–which is one of the most rich and precious forms of focus we have” (Hari 86).

In recent studies of adolescent school shooters, trending characteristics include narcissism and lack of empathy. Reflecting on Hari’s statement, if school shooters read more fiction, would they develop more empathy and be less likely to shoot people?

In “Rampage School Shooters: A Typology” the author, Peter Langman says:

“A few of the common individual features included narcissism, bigotry, alienation, poor anger management, fascination with violence, low self-esteem, and a lack of empathy” (Langman 2).

He describes psychopathic behavior as someone who can hurt or kill others without any remorse due to their lack of empathy. In their study, the trending factors of the ten patients always demonstrated a lack of empathy. Did these young adults fail to read enough novels to connect and empathize with fictional characters who could have shaped their future?

A Curious Correlation

Although Johann Hari did not make this connection or present any evidence on the correlation between these two, my curiosity on this topic sparked my curiosity to keep researching studies on the types of books these mass shooters were reading and the environmental factors that led to their horrific decisions.

Moreover, Langman points out the trending quality of being fascinated with violence. This led me to believe the types of books or media these shooters were inundated with was not a romance novel or sitcom where they could empathize with fictional characters. Although we can only shield children from the violence on television or on their social media feeds, we can take a larger step in creating a world with increased empathy in media. Instead of luring young adults to buy violent video games or watch a violent movie, we can put in an increased emphasis on reading a fictional book instead.

Trending Responsibility

In the future, parents, teachers, and adult role models could all easily place a greater emphasis on reading instead of screen time. This is a very small request and can be easily attempted and implemented into the culture of the youngest generation. We all have a moral responsibility to at least give reading fiction a shot at being the most trending activity.  

Citations:

Langman, P. (2009). Rampage School Shooters: A Typology. ScienceDirect, 14(1), 79–86. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2008.10.003

Hari, Johann. Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention–and How to Think Deeply Again. Crown, 2023.