Illustrated Report: How Gun Violence Goes Viral

9 months ago

A digital drawing, made with black pencil and red and neon-blue gouache, shows a teenager standing in the center. The figure’s human head has been replaced with a red rose, which is losing its petals. The rose petals fall around the figure with drops of water, symbolizing tears. The figure’s body is half within a broken smartphone, the frame of which is colored the same red as the rose. In the background, smaller red cellphones are aligned horizontally. Their screens show a combination of guns, a happy human teen with a friend, and a memorial of the same teen. Behind everything, the base background is black and ominous.

As chatter and images about guns and violence slip into the social media feeds of more teens, viral messages fueled by “likes” can lead to real-world conflict and loss.

This illustrated report has been adapted from a KFF Health News article, “‘All We Want Is Revenge’: How Social Media Fuels Gun Violence Among Teens,” by Liz Szabo.