The Desensitization of Gen Z on Social Media

By Stefanie Schappert

In the wake of two shocking murders this week in the US – the assassination of conservative commentator and Trump confidant Charlie Kirk, and the senseless death of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska – civilized society must ask itself: 

When did showing the actual murder of innocent people on social media become the new normal? 

The evolution of Gen Z’s fascination with posting every waking moment on their favorite app has definitively taken a gruesome turn. It seems that now we can look forward to not just “living” our lives online, but our deaths as well. 

In what must be considered the ultimate violation of personal boundaries – especially in the case of Zarutska, who was not a public figure – internet gawkers passed around the video of her stabbing with morbid fascination, only to discard it when the dopamine hit of watching something so vile ended. 

One can only imagine; was the murderous video sandwiched between a cute puppy and the latest jetsetter travel advice? 

A Lesson in Humanity

These murders, taking place just days before the anniversary of the September 11th terror attacks, brought this writer back to her first days as a newsroom lackey in New York City.

As an eager newbie, I spent weeks working with seasoned producers on a 9/11 documentary just months after the tragedy, the smell of the still-burning towers filling my nostrils as I walked to work barely a few miles away from the rubble. 

My job was to adjust the white levels on the footage taken by our cameramen that fateful day. (For those not in the TV world, it basically means to adjust the color temperature of the video so whites look truly white, and other colors will follow.)

Needless to say, I spent hours endlessly tweaking video clips of the victims, first waving for help out of shattered windows from atop the World Trade Center, and then, in their last moment of autonomy, choosing to jump to their deaths instead of being burned alive.  

I can barely swallow as I am writing this; those horrific images are burned into my psyche forever. 

I can not imagine a world where these kinds of horrors are simply floating around on social media like virtual candy, imprinting themselves on impressionable minds who gobble them up with abandon, without understanding the long-term ramifications, but yet here we are. 

Even those social media users who vow not to watch the murders of Kirk and Zarutska, may not have a choice. Most video platforms, with TikTok as the biggest offender, will auto-play videos one after another, leaving the user helpless to control what comes next.  

Even passive scrolling is based on algorithms. You watch a few videos of reckless teens in a street brawl, and what do you think will come next? 

Time to Pivot

As once benign social media platforms, like TikTok and Instagram, continue to integrate and overlap into every aspect of society, where do we go from here? 

When the next get-rich-quick scheme becomes less of a pipe dream and more of a strategic OnlyFans venture, the desensitization of anxious teens and young adult wanna-be influencers bombarded with digital tools used primarily for self-validation needs to become front and center. 

From fitness influencers to small business product launches to brutal war zones, Gen Z and the generations following must be taught that life is not just a 30-second clip. 

These platforms hold recordings of real people with real emotions (and families) that can bleed out just as much as they would given the same circumstances. 

The hope is, like every controversial movement, younger generations will realize it’s not all about the likes and inherently grasp that technology in the wrong hands can truly be a galvanizing weapon on every level. 

Then, eventually, take a step back, allowing privacy (and human decency) to hop in the front seat and drive society in a different direction. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stefanie Schappert, a senior journalist at Cybernews, is an accomplished writer with an M.S. in cybersecurity, immersed in the security world since 2019.  She has a decade-plus experience in America’s #1 news market working for Fox News, Gannett, Blaze Media, Verizon Fios1, and NY1 News.  With a strong focus on national security, data breaches, trending threats, hacker groups, global issues, and women in tech, she is also a commentator for live panels, podcasts, radio, and TV. Earned the ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) certification as part of the initial CC pilot program, participated in numerous Capture-the-Flag (CTF) competitions, and took 3rd place in Temple University’s International Social Engineering Pen Testing Competition, sponsored by Google.  Member of Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu (WSC), Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE) International Honor Society for Computing and Information Disciplines.