What in the world is wrong with this world?

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I sometimes can't help but think about where humanity is going; whether we are digging our own graves?

Beutiful Stone 3 by kc_twd

If you haven't got the chance to watch TV, just take some time out and be a "couch potato" and draw your own conclusions. I really don't understand what we are doing to ourselves?

Just look at the news everyday and you will know what I mean. We are constantly bombarded with news that shock us, 10-year old boy brings a gun and shoots classmates, man murders another and dismembers the body, lady abandons baby in rubbish dump, man rapes little girl and kills her, later abandoning the body in the woods and the list goes on...

Then continue to stay with the TV and watch some TV serial, supposedly some award-winning programme, some murder mystery that gives you elaborate detail how some cold-blooded murderer plots his crime, with much blood and gore to make it as realistic as possible. Or another TV serial, with its regular feature of sex, adultery and generous usage of words such as "sex" etc. Or watch a horror flick that features psycho killers or supernatural beings going around with a mask, slaying people, again giving you elaborate details into how the slaying is done, from different angles and with blood splashing in all directions.

Maybe change the channel and watch a documentary on prominent crimes, bringing you back to the crime scene, as if watching the crime committed in front of you. Not to your taste? Switch the channel to watch reality TV show, featuring several teams of people plotting against each other, "playong the game" to win a million dollars. Not enough? You can always go watch a movie with a friend with state-of-the-art visual effects, blood and gore and/or a war flick with bullets and limbs flying around. One fact remains: Sex, Violence, Blood & Gore sells.

We have heard so many people talk about how the media is affecting our youths and have lamented about the effects and attributed shocking behaviours observed in people to these. There are also numerous psychological research being done on the topic, showing the connection between exposure to violence and the propensity to be violent. Yet, I ask, what is done about it?

It may sound that I am proposing for stricter censorship, some may also argue that I am asking for curbing of one's right and freedom to watch what they want. I am not specifically asking for that but am puzzled how life goes on despite us kowing how these are slowly eating away humanity, literally. I have watch "pleasantville" which depicts a group of people suppressed by niceties, so much so anything bad is banned. I am not asking for that but just wondering why the perculiar behaviour; on one hand you know something is bad and laments about it; on the other hand does nothing about it, only to further lament about it.

I used to have this theory of "media amplification", not something I came up with, following PhD-standard research, just something based on observations and reflection. We know that most TV programmes reflect life and present-day problems. But then I can't help but feel whether these serve to inform or serve to further reinforce problems, sending the signal that what you see is something prevalent in society, so we are reflecting it in our programmes.

We are slowly desensitized to things because we continue to see it on a daily basis. Take violence for example, we are literally brought into murder scenes almost on a daily basis watching other heck others up. Witnessing a real murder, you might be traumatized. See it on TV serials, you might be slightly disturbed (knowing it is make-believe drama). Seeing it often, it becomes a "common sight". I remember watching "Hotel Rwanda" and there is this scene which showed a reporter talking to a Rwandan. Apparently, the reporter shot some footage of genocide. The Rwandan wanted to persuade the reporter to use the footage to help persuade the international community to help the Rwandans by sending UN forces to stop the ruthless killings. The reporter responded, something to the effect:

"People will just see the footage at their dinner table and say "oh my goodness, that's horrible" and continue with their dinner"

We are being confronted with so much negativity everyday, we become so desensitized and "dehumanized". Food for thought.