By India McCarty
A new study finds that guns are being marketed online to young boys with sexually charged imagery at an alarming rate.
“The firearm industry is aggressively pushing harmful ideas about masculinity — using very sexualized and violent content to market firearms to kids,” said Nicole Hockley, co-founder and co-CEO of Sandy Hook Promise and mother of Dylan, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy.
She continued, “This kind of marketing preys on young boys’ insecurities and how they see themselves. It’s the same kind of messaging that influenced the shooter who murdered my son and 25 others at Sandy Hook Elementary. This type of marketing isn’t just irresponsible — it’s dangerous and it has deadly consequences.”
The study, conducted by Sandy Hook Promise, found that 54% of boys aged 10-17 reported seeing “sexually charged firearm content” at least once a week. Thirty-eight percent of boys said they clicked on those ads.
Additionally, 32% of boys follow influencers who promote firearms; just 27% of parents knew that their sons were following those accounts. Thirty percent of parents said they had noticed gun ads on their child’s social media accounts, but just 8% recognized it as sexually charged.
“Our children are learning about who they are, their power, and their value from online personalities and ads that make weapons look exciting and connect them to being in charge and attractive,” Mark Barden, co-founder and co-CEO of Sandy Hook Promise and father of Daniel, who was also killed at Sandy Hook, explained. “These messages are risky, especially for young people who might be having a hard time with their mental health, feeling alone, or not feeling good about themselves. Parents should be in control of how they teach their children about these issues; not gun companies.”
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Hockley echoed Barden’s statements in an interview with Parents.com, saying, “This kind of marketing preys on young boys’ insecurities and how they see themselves. It’s the same kind of messaging that influenced the shooter who murdered my son and 25 others at Sandy Hook Elementary. This type of marketing isn’t just irresponsible — it’s dangerous and it has deadly consequences.”
Sandy Hook Promise released a list of “responsible marketing guidelines” they want firearm companies to adhere to, including, “only direct marketing to adults,” not using “game-like or cartoon figures” that could attract a kid’s notice and to “not use graphic or gratuitous nudity, overt sexual activity, promiscuity, or sexually lewd images or language.”
In the meantime, Titania Jordan, the Chief Marketing Officer for Bark Technologies, a parental controls company, told Parents.com to be aware of what their kids are looking at online.
“Until you see what your children are seeing, you’re not going to realize the problem,” she explained.
Jordan recommended not allowing kids to use phones or computers behind closed doors,and to familiarize yourself with the apps and video games your child is interacting with. She also advised having conversations with your children about media literacy, as well as violent video games where “shooting and killing are the primary focus” to avoid desensitization to this violence.
As firearm ads become more and more focused on young men, it is vitally important to be aware of what your children are seeing online.
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