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Followers of School Shooting Online Communities in Russia: Age, Gender, Anonymity and Regulations
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Abstract
Today, for about five online communities, which promotes aggressive ideology are registered daily in the largest Russian social networking site VK. These online communities advocate aggression, self-harm, and suicide. Community administrators gradually shape a large group of young people for whom aggression is normal. Although there are a lot of studies on school shooting phenomenon, most of them are focused on media and legal issues, or psychological motivation of shooters. Current study is aimed to identify the real audience (followers) of school shooting online communities in social network, and their gender, age and social characteristics.
Over the course of three months, we collected and analyzed opened and publicly accessible data from nine online communities with more than 1,500 followers.
We found that school shooting communities' followers were mostly males aged 15 to 22. We suggested this age and gender group of young people was the most vulnerable in front of destructive information influence in social media. In addition, we note that rules and regulations including community banning make some barriers for researchers, who investigate community content, behavior and characteristics of their followers. Nevertheless, we acknowledge that the policy of banning online school shooting communities for security reasons is effective as a barrier for spreading dangerous ideas among youth.
... Other works have explored methodology for search and analysis of harmful content on Facebook, LiveJournal, and YouTube [25,26]. In addition, some of our previous studies [27,28] have provided brief overviews of demographic characteristics of school shooting communities' members. However, the network structure of online groups related to school shootings remains almost unaddressed in the scientific literature. ...
... Results showed that followers of school shooting and suicide-related virtual communities were mainly youths aged less than 22 years with males prevailing among school shooting virtual community followers and females as the majority in some of the suicide-related virtual groups. The evidence obtained corresponds to the findings reported in our previous works [28,40]. ...
As network structure of virtual communities related to suicide and school shooting still remains unaddressed in scientific literature, we employed basic demographics analysis and social network analysis (SNA) to show common features, as well as distinct facets in the communities’ structure and their followers’ network. Open and publicly accessible data of over 16,000 user accounts were collected with a social media monitoring system. Results showed that adolescents and young adults were the main audience of suicide-related and school shooting fan communities. List of blocked virtual groups related to school shooting was more extensive than that of suicide, which indicates a high radicalization degree of school shooting virtual groups. The homogeneity of followers’ interests was more typical for subscribers of suicide-related communities. A social network analysis showed that followers of school shooting virtual groups were closely interconnected with their peers, and their network was monolithic, while followers of suicide-related virtual groups were fragmented into numerous communities, so presence of a giant connected component in their network can be questioned. We consider our results highly relevant for better understanding the network aspects of virtual information existence, harmful information spreading, and its potential impact on society.
... Thus, our study is representative of the opinions of the younger generations, while those of the older generations are much less taken into account. The older generations are hardly represented within the scope of our study, while their assessments, as we see it, can be considerably different from the perception of younger people (Peshkovskaya et al., 2021). ...
The article offers a new method of quality of life assessment based on online activities of social networks users. The method has obvious advantages (quickness of research, low costs, large scale, and detailed character of the obtained information) and limitations (it covers only the “digital population,” whereas the rural population is not included). The article dwells on the potential of social networks as a data source to analyze the quality of life; it also presents the results of an empirical study of online activities of the users of VK, the most popular Russian social network. Using the obtained data, the authors have calculated the quality of life index for 83 regions of the Russian Federation based on 19 parameters of economic, social, and political aspects of life quality.
... In this study, we investigated the interrelation of eye movements in the decision process of strategic-based behavior under the influence of a social domain. A large literature in behavioral science emphasizes in the last decades the role of social factors in shaping certain behavioral strategies in various environments Frechette, 2018, 2019;Schmitz, 2019;Proto et al., 2020;Peshkovskaya et al., 2021). Moreover, the evidence of social factor influence on a physiological basis of cognitive processes is shown (Do et al., 2019). ...
Understanding human behavior remains a grand challenge across disciplines. We used eye tracking to investigate how visual perception associated with a strategic behavior in decision process. Gaze activity and eye movement patterns were measured in fourteen human participants with different decision strategies. We also employed a social domain to force strategic behavior. We found that social interaction significantly improves level of cooperation, prosocial decisions, and overall cooperative strategy in experiment participants. Gaze behavior in individuals with cooperative strategy characterized by a greater number of fixations and frequent gaze returns to the scanned areas. Contrary, individuals with non-cooperative strategy approached decision-making task stimuli in a distinct way, with long duration fixations, and a low number of gaze returns to the areas already scanned. Social domain, which enhances cooperation and prosocial behavior, made participants more attentive to the task stimuli in our experiments. Moreover, prolonged gaze at the area of cooperative choice testified in favor of the cooperative decision.
The subject of this research in the propensity for extremism in the context of socio-psychological maladaptation of personality, determined via a newly developed screening method. The empirical object of this research is the school students of Primorsky Krai (n=395) and students from other regions of the Russian Federation (n=629). The author examines the retest reliability, content and constructive validity of the method, including its theoretical substantiation. Description is given to the test norms for two versions of the method (form A-1 for schoolers and form A-2 for students). Special attention is turned to the construct of screening method – the proclivity for extremism, which is viewed through the lens of socio-psychological maladaptation of personality and may manifest in the instance of the following criteria: signs of depressiveness, loneliness, dehumanization of others, sense of superiority, motives of vengeance, positive attitude towards death. The scientific novelty lies in testing and adaptation of the two forms of screening method. The main conclusion lies in the validation of the psychometric properties of the questionnaire. It is worth noting that the individual with propensity for extremism not necessarily would commit extremist actions, however, falls into a risk group, since their behavior in maladaptive state can be unpredictable, inflicting conflict, suicide, deviant behavior. Screening method for diagnosing the propensity for extremism should be viewed as an instrument for preventing extremism in youth environment.
В статье поставлена цель исследования сетевой структуры виртуальных сообществ, транслирующих субкультуру скулшутеров на примере одного из российских фанатских сообществ, посвященных памяти Владислава Рослякова — наиболее известного исполнителя массового расстрела учебного заведения в России. В проведенном исследовании на основе метода социально-сетевого анализа выявлены ключевые сетевые характеристики избранного сообщества; определены социодемографические параметры и географическая локализация участников сообщества (по открытым данным пользователей); составлен и проанализирован топ общих подписок участников сети и их друзей после блокировки сообщества с целью охарактеризовать однородность тематических интересов и организационно-коммуникативную интегрированность сообщества.
Результаты исследования показывают, что в молодежной аудитории Рунета, интересующейся девиантным контентом, формируется онлайн-субкультура, соединяющая тематику Колумбайна с «культом» местных шутеров, таких как «керченский стрелок» Росляков. В социальной сети «ВКонтакте» пользователи с девиантными интересами обнаруживают достаточно широкий круг общения, при этом во многом оставаясь одиночками. Онлайн-субкультура скулшутеров выходит за рамки формального членства в соответствующих виртуальных сообществах и может в десятки раз превышать количество действующих подписчиков. Анализ подписок участников рассматриваемого сообщества на другие сообщества показывает, что группа довольно консолидирована по тематическим интересам, в круг которых вовлечена часть друзей ее участников. Однако эта сеть слабо организована и не представляет собой тесно интегрированной коммуникативной среды.
Internet users number is growing every year. Digital data can be relevant markers in research on mental health, risk factors for mental illness and self-harm. Aim of the study: to identify the connection between social media data and social and demographic characteristics in young men with non-suicidal forms of self-injurious behavior. Method. The sample consisted of 193 volunteer participants – young men aged 18 to 27. The assessment of non-suicidal self-harm was performed within the DSM-5 criteria and the scale of self-harm behavior. Digital footprints were estimated using data processing algorithms based on open and publicly available data from social networking site VK (vk.com). Statistic analysis was performed with SPSS-Statistics V26 software. Results. The study revealed that 38.7% of young men committed an act of self-harm at least once in their
lives. According to DSM-5 criteria, where at least 5 self-harming actions within a year must be taken into account, the
prevalence of self-harm was 22.6%. Cuts with sharp objects were made by young men with low level of education (p=0.047), who live mainly in rural areas (p=0.039). The use of psychoactive substances and tobacco was recorded with a high statistical significance in this group (p=0.0001). Young people living in urban areas (p=0.006), with experience of drug use (p=0.001) and previously prosecuted (p=0.003) were more likely to hit hard surfaces with their fist, leg, head or body. The digital footprints of young people who committed self-harm was distinguished by the presence of aggressive content on social media profile pages (p=0.02) and images with aggressive content (p=0.008). Conclusion. The results of the study indicate a connection between self-harming behavior in young males with low level of education, smoking, alcohol and drug use. It was also shown that digital markers of online activity in a group of young men with a history of non-suicidal self-harm are the posting of aggressive content on social media and photographs of aggressive content. The authors believe that the results of the study can become the basis for the development of diagnostic algorithms and informed prevention programs for young people.
For citation:
Evseev V.D., Peshkovskaya A.G., Matsuta V.V., Mandel A.I., Bokhan N.A. Interconnection of digital markers of online activity and socio demographic characteristics of young males with non-suicidal forms of selfharming behavior. Suicidology. 2020; 11 (3): 72-83. (In Russ) doi.org/10.32878/suiciderus.20-11-03(40)-72-83
A number of previous researches indicate that men prefer competition over cooperation, and it is sometimes suggested that women show the opposite behavioral preference. In the current study the effects of social context on gender differences in cooperation are investigated. For the purpose, we compared men and women behavior under two social conditions: in groups of strangers and in groups with long-term socialization—groups of friends. The differences were found in changes in the level of cooperation, taking into account the effects of mixing social and gender variables. Social interaction and communication made cooperation of group members strength and sustainable. However, men’s and women’s cooperative behavior in groups differed. Women were initially more inclined to cooperate in interaction with strangers. Men showed greater sensitivity to sociality effects. They tended to make cooperative decisions more often if there were friends in the group. Furthermore, men cooperated with previously unknown people after socialization with them significantly more than women.
This study is grounded in extensive online ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with 22 people who expressed a deep interest in school shootings. Such people form a global online subculture; they share common interests and find the same cultural objects important. Media accounts of school shootings have fueled this subculture; its members participate in the re-creation and circulation of online media content and give new meanings to that content. We found that people deeply interested in school shootings do not form a homogenous group, and they are divided into four subgroups within the subculture based on members’ focus and interest: researchers, fan girls, Columbiners, and copycats. Out of these, copycats are the only subgroup explicitly interested in replicating the acts, although subgroup membership can overlap, and members can move from one subgroup to another. Beyond copycats, other subgroups also participate in giving perpetrators fame and circulate reasons for the shootings. These accounts may influence future perpetrators.
School shootings have had an enormous cultural impact on discussions about youth worldwide. Studies on school shootings have not yet considered the complex nature of youth subcultures, often blaming particular sub-cultures or cultural products. This article analyses how school shooters use different cultural products, including books, films, and especially music. The interest lies in examining how particular cultural products are woven into the fabric of the cultural script of school shootings. The music of 46 videos left by the Finnish Jokela High School shooter is analysed in the context of the cultural script of the shootings. School shooters are not only fascinated by previous shootings, but are also fans of similar cultural products. Music is actively used as a reference. Shooters actively searched for lyrics that enforce the idea of revolutionary violence. Internet videos offered a channel for shooters to interact with other people.
Numerous researches have indicated that men’s and women’s cooperation varied from no differences to significant differences under the influence of different contextual characteristics. In this study, we investigated how social factors together with a gender composition of a group affected gender differences in cooperation. We found that mixed-sex groups were the most effective in cooperation. At the same time, cooperation level in same-sex groups varied significantly. Besides, in same-sex groups, men demonstrated a higher level of trust and gratitude than women. Among women, in same-sex groups, a tendency toward mutual distrust and competition was revealed more often than among men.
This study examined the 15 deadliest public mass shootings in the United States from March 1998 to February 2018 to assess (a) leakage of violent thoughts/intent, (b) leakage of specific interest in mass killing, (c) concerning behaviors reported to law enforcement, (d) concerning interest in homicide reported to law enforcement, and (e) firearms acquisition. We then compared our findings on the deadliest public mass shooters with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) findings on active shooters in general. Overall, the results suggest that most incidents were indeed preventable based on information known about offenders in advance, and that the deadliest mass shooters exhibited more warning signs and were more often reported to law enforcement than other active shooters. Future prevention efforts should aim to educate, encourage, and pressure the public to report warning signs to law enforcement, educate and train law enforcement so that they can more effectively investigate potential threats, and limit firearms access for people who have admitted having homicidal or suicidal thoughts or being interested in committing a mass shooting. These relatively straightforward steps could significantly reduce the prevalence of future attacks.
This work examines the intersections of subcultural theories and radicalization theories from terrorism studies to identify how they may be improved through integration. To date there have been almost no efforts to merge these frameworks, though terrorism shares common characteristics of deviant subcultures. Both are driven by ideologies that are in opposition to that of their targets. We focus particularly on the process of online radicalization to assess how subcultural research in online environments may inform the process of enculturation into a terrorist belief system. We conclude by discussing the implications of this expansion for research on terrorism and subcultures.
Leaking comprises observable behavior or statements that signal intentions of committing a violent offense and is considered an important warning sign for school shootings. School staff who are confronted with leaking have to assess its seriousness and react appropriately – a difficult task, because knowledge about leaking is sparse. The present study, therefore, examined how frequently leaking occurs in schools and how teachers identify leaking and respond to it. To achieve this aim, we informed teachers from eight schools in Germany about the definition of leaking and other warning signs and risk factors for school shootings in a one-hour information session. Teachers were then asked to report cases of leaking over a six- to nine-month period and to answer a questionnaire on leaking and its treatment after the information session and six to nine months later. Our results suggest that leaking is a relevant problem in German schools. Teachers mostly rated the information session positively and benefited in several aspects (e.g. reported more perceived courses of action or improved knowledge about leaking), but also expressed a constant need for support. Our findings highlight teachers’ needs for further support and training and may be used in the planning of prevention measures for school shootings.
School shootings are a concern due to their impact in the local community. This paper aimed
to (a) establish frequent characteristics of the offender and offence, (b) explore the differences
between offenders who are over the age of 18 years and those who are younger, and (c) consider
the underlying themes of the offence characteristics. Data were collected on 28 cases
through accessing resources such asWest Law and case studies. The majority of the offenders
were Caucasian and US citizens and suffered from depression. Their offences were primarily
well planned, involved more than three deaths, and resulted in the offender committing suicide.
Pearson’s chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test identified significant differences between
the two age groups. Offenders who were 18 years of age or under were more likely
to experience depression, be US citizens and be linked to the school. Additionally, offenders
who were 18 years of age or under were more likely to have stolen their weapons and made
threats prior to the incident. Smallest space analysis revealed four thematic regions in relation
to the offence characteristics: making an impact, delivering amessage, doing unrestrained
activity, and targeting specific individuals. These findings have implications for risk assessment
and furthering understanding. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Social media’s influence on frequency of incidents
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