( Seven Minute read)

We all have different personalities, mental models, emotions, needs, wants, goals, values and beliefs, which shaped who we are and partially determined what we do.

It begs the question: what kind of mind wants to witness violence – adrenaline junkies.

What does it say about us—individually, culturally, psychologically—that cruelty has become entertainment, and aggression has become identity?

The attraction to violence doesn’t come out of nowhere.

We don’t crave violence because we’re cruel—we crave it because we’re human.

Because it gives structure to chaos, power to the powerless, and a feeling—any feeling—when we’ve gone emotionally numb.

Why do we settle in for an evening with movies drenched in bloodshed?

Human beings are not simply passive consumers of story; we are meaning-makers wired for survival.

In a sense, violent media allows the viewer to outsource their primal fears to someone else’s narrative.

We get to watch someone else survive—or perish—while we stay in control of our environment.

But the way that violence is packaged, consumed, and even glorified is not the same across cultures.

When we examine global media patterns, American media differs from other societies when it comes to glamorizing aggression.

American media, in particular, has made violence synonymous with excitement, justice, and even virtue.

And the internet has made the distribution of violence easy. With a few clicks, anyone can access footage that would have once been buried or censored.

Social media is saturated with violence in all its forms and it is influenced us to the extent that we are risking becoming spectators in our own lives—watching pain like a plot point, framing suffering as something that needs to be “dealt with,” rather than witnessed.

And slowly, almost imperceptibly, we lose touch with our own moral compass.

It’s not just about the moment—it’s about the culture we’ve absorbed. We’ve been taught that dominance is clarity. That loudness is leadership. That the one who controls the room controls the truth.

But this isn’t emotional strength—it’s emotional fragility dressed as certainty.

And it’s costing us more than we think.

It is possible to choose curiosity over compulsion, presence over passivity, humanity over brutality.

However it will never feel as easy. It won’t give you the instant gratification of a fight scene. It won’t resolve in 90 minutes. It takes more from you—but it gives more in return.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has sparked a frenzy well beyond the technology sector.

For example: The gaming world is saturated with violence.

All human comments appreciated. All like clicks and abuse chucked in the bin.

Contact: bobdillon33@gmail.com