Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id NAA10742 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Wed, 18 Apr 2001 13:52:38 +0100 Message-ID: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D3101745DB1@inchna.stir.ac.uk> From: Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk> To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Subject: RE: Is Suicide Contagious? A Case Study in Applied Memetics Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001 13:49:13 +0100 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21) Content-Type: text/plain Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
There's another reason for this apparent pattern you've not considered- that
these events were entirely unrelated causally, but only related by the media
running with a number of conincidental cases, presenting it as part of a
trend, and over-stating their own involvement in the events.
You have also to consider the social context in which certain events happen,
and patterns of acceptable/unaccetable behaviour at any given time- rather
like the taboos we've discussed. Television crime dramas never use the 'do
not try this at home' line that some stunt programmes do (there's even a TV
show here called 'Don't Try This At Home'), yet they are full of murder,
violence and all sorts of crimes. Yet why don't people routinely copy such
programmes? Is it because the media don't influence us to the extent some
think? Or is at least partly to with tacitly acknowledged rules of
behaviour which the vast majority of people follow- i.e. that crime is
"bad", and copying it from TV is "bad". That's a product of the social
system. That has a profound effect on the possibility that a "normal"
well-adjusted person will witness a suicide, or murder on screen (or even in
person, for that matter) and they commit that act themselves.
Vincent
===============================================================
This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Apr 18 2001 - 13:55:52 BST