An Analysis of the Activities of the Radical Ideological Movement “Columbine” Followers

The paper examines the cases of attacks on schools in Russia, assesses the events that have occurred, and analyzes the activities of school shooters. The symbolism and attributes of Columbine’s followers are given. As part of the study, a content analysis of the Internet information space was carried out, which allowed us to draw certain conclusions on the spread of the radical ideological movement Columbine. Thus, a typical representative of a “Columbine community” is from 14 to 20 years old. Teenagers often pretend to be older in the virtual space and maintain several accounts in the same social network. The formation of a teenager’s personality occurs through the prism of relationships in the reference group. If this self-identification does not occur in the family or school for various reasons, then the minor plunges into the information and network space, where he finds comfort, his interests and views are shared, and he gets support. A teenager gets an impression that he is best understood in death groups, Columbine communities and other destructive associations, and not in the family. The information that these users leave on their personal social network accounts allows us to identify a number of features indicating depression, the presence of pre-suicidal syndrome, aggressive behavior and excessive cruelty. Thus, the following conclusion can be drawn: a typical participant in a Columbine community is an emotionally unstable, driven, complex, secretive, insecure individual. As a rule, there are few or no real photos on the account of a typical Columbine community participant. Sometimes a pseudonym is used instead of the real name: in most cases it is associated with the Columbine cult. In addition, the account of such a teenager contains photo and video content that can be attributed to suicidal themes, excessive cruelty and aggression, and a passion for weapons.

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