GunsGun Violence Rises in TV Dramas over Two Decades, Paralleling U.S. Gun Homicide Tends

Published 17 March 2021

Gun violence in popular prime-time broadcast television dramas has increased steadily over almost two decades, a trend that parallels the rise in U.S. homicide deaths attributable to firearms, according to new research. Overall gun violence on popular prime-time dramas doubled from 2000 through 2018. More important, gun violence as a proportion of the violence depicted in the shows rose significantly as well.

Gun violence in popular prime-time broadcast television dramas has increased steadily over almost two decades, a trend that parallels the rise in U.S. homicide deaths attributable to firearms, according to research by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania.

Overall gun violence on popular prime-time dramas doubled from 2000 through 2018, according to the study, which was published in PLOS ONE. More important, gun violence as a proportion of the violence depicted in the shows rose significantly as well.

“Our research found that gun use substantially increased from 2000 to 2018 on prime-time TV dramas in the U.S., a trend that paralleled the use of firearms in homicides,” said APPC research director Daniel Romer, who co-authored the paper with APPC’s Patrick E. Jamieson. “Just as the entertainment media contributed to the uptake of cigarettes among vulnerable youth, our findings suggest that it may be doing the same for guns.”

“The association between the rise of gun violence in popular US primetime television dramas and homicides attributable to firearms, 2000-2018” was published March 17 in PLOS ONE.

Behind the Study
Firearm injuries and deaths are increasingly seen as a public health crisis in the United States. In 2018, over 39,000 Americans died in gun-related deaths and there were over 70,000 nonfatal firearm injuries. Young people ages 15 to 24 experience the highest rate of gun homicides and are especially sensitive to media influences that put them at risk of adverse health consequences, such as violence.

The rise in gun violence in the media has long been viewed as a potential cultural influence on behavior. Prior research by the Annenberg Public Policy Center has shown that gun violence in the top-grossing PG-13 movies increased dramatically since the inception of the PG-13 rating in 1985; that PG-13 movies have more gun violence than R-rated films; and that parents see movie gun violence as acceptable for adolescents 15 and up when the violence appears to be justified by the need to defend oneself or others.