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INTRODUCTION
We are a species of copycats. Stop for a second to check out your appearance in the mirror.
Why do you have that particular hair style? Why did you pick out that shirt or blouse? Why
did you buy those particular shoes? How about that belt or jewelry you have on - what made
you choose those? For that matter, why do you yawn when you see others yawning or feel sad
around depressed people? Whether you like it or not, the evidence shows that your style of
dress, the car you drive, the amount of words you know, the slang you use, the traits you
prefer in a mate, how you parent, and even your emotional reactions are all influenced by
your genetic urge to imitate. Copycatting isn’t rocket science, just simple observations of
human nature, and no one is better at that than social scientists like Coleman. Humans are
98% chimpanzees, and monkeys copy things. That's how we learn
Over 2,300 years ago, Aristotle wrote, "Imitation is natural to man from childhood, one of his
advantages over lower animals being this, that he is the most imitative creature in the world
and learns first by imitation." Aristotle was spot on. When compared to other beings on earth,
the capacity of humans to imitate dwarfs all others, allowing humans to learn things that
animals could never learn" from how to cook a crepe to how to fly an airplane. Our genetic
drive to imitate actions, language, behaviors, and emotions of those we are exposed to.
It happens so many times when we see someone dressing like a movie star, or we heard about
someone who has committed a crime or a suicide just like the way he saw it in TV or read
about it somewhere, this is called « Copycat ». The Copycat theory relates to something
which is publicized in media and creates a lot of attention, resulting in other people to imitate,
or ‘copy’ this in order to gain the same level of attention. In regards to this, we can distinguish
between different manifestations (Copycat crime, Copycat suicide, …). I really find this topic
very interesting to discuss and to puts lights on, my research paper will be titled as « Media
Copycat effect: you do what you see ». My research aims to define what is Copycat; it will
also explain how and why people tend to imitate and to be inspired by media, in the other
hand, if copycat can be positive. As a study case, I would explain why protesting by burning
the self is becoming more and more popular after the Tunisian ‘Bouazizi’ did it
Does media coverage of mass shootings inspire copycat crimes?
So, why do copycat murders and suicides take place? Media. And who drives media? We do.
Are we to blame?
CONCLUSION
media's over-saturated coverage of murders, suicides, and deadly tragedies makes an impact
on our society. This is The Copycat Effect -- the phenomenon through which violent events
spawn violence of the same type. From recognizing the emerging patterns of the Copycat
Effect, to how we can deal with and counteract its consequences as individuals and as a
culture. He traces the problem's roots to Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774),
which spotlighted a fellow who shot himself over a failed romance and inspired many young
men to do the same. When referring to copycat catastrophes. Coleman addresses Marilyn
Monroe's 1962 death, pointing out that thanks to extensive coverage of the star's passing, 'the
suicide rate in the United States increased briefly by 12%.
1. The media must be more aware of the power of their words. Using language like
“successful” sniper attacks, suicides, and bridge jumpers, and “failed” murder-suicides, for
example, clearly suggest to viewers and readers that someone should keep trying again until
they “succeed.”
3. The media must cease its graphic and sensationalized wall-to-wall commentary and
coverage of violent acts and the details of the actual methods and places where they occur.
Tapes of people jumping off bridges, and live shots of things like car chases ending in deadly
crashes, for example, merely glamorize these deaths, and create models for others.
4. The media should show more details about the grief of the survivors and victims (without
glorifying the death), and highlight the alternatives to the violent acts
5. The media must avoid stereotypes in portraying the victims or the perpeators. Why set up
situations that like-minded individuals (e.g. neo-Nazis) can use as a roadmap for a future
rampages against similar victims?
6. The media should never publish a report on suicide or murder-suicide without adding the
protective factors, such as the contact information for hot lines, help lines.
7. The media should reflect more on their role in creating our increasingly perceived violent
society. Most of our lives are mundane, safe, and uneventful.