Liudmila V. Baeva
Astrakhan Tatishchev State University, Astrakhan, Russia
Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia
baevaludmila@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0439-525X
Abstract. This article examines the mediatization of violence and destruction, which leads to
social desensitization. It provides an overview of research and issues related to the formation and
promotion of aggressive content in contemporary media culture. Using examples from the aesthetics
© Баева Л. В., 2026
THE CASPIAN REGION: Politics, Economics, Culture. 2026. No. 1 (86)
Philosophical anthropology, philosophy of culture
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of video games, fashion, and the entertainment industry, it presents the sources of the “culture of
violence” and the risks of its legitimization in social consciousness. The theoretical basis of this work
is provided by E. Fromm’s study of destructiveness, L. Berkovets’s theory of aggression priming,
P. Langman’s theory of school shooting psychology, D. Khapaeva and J.L. Foltyn’s theories of the
aestheticization of death, and J. Naisbitt’s theory of electronic violence. The article explores the
specific features of the promotion of destructive ideas in online communities and subcultures. It also
highlights the sources and factors that shape the overvalued attitude toward violence and
destructiveness in contemporary media culture. The connections between the liberal worldview and
the acceptance of violence as the norm are revealed. This study allows us to understand the
phenomenon of social desensitization as a societal response to the promotion of violent images in the
media across multiple levels (sociocultural, psychological, mass media, existential, ethical, and
aesthetic). The results of this study can be used for regulatory guidance in media production as a form
of humanitarian expertise.
Keywords: social desensitization, aggression, violence, media culture, values and anti-values,
mediatization, viral effect, liberal values, destruction, aestheticization
For citation: Baeva L. V. Social Desensitization in the Media Culture Space. Kaspiyskiy
region: politika, ekonomika, kultura [The Caspian Region: Politics, Economics, Culture]. 2026, no. 1
(86), pp. 186–199. https://doi.org/10.54398/1818-510X.2026.86.1.017 (In Russ.).
