I sometimes wonder if media outlets like The 撸奶社区 put too many trigger warnings on news stories.
My concern is that we may collectively be becoming too sensitive for real life compared with generations ago and other places in the world, thus not facing realities that could lead us to action.
Or, I may be too harsh.
Being from Gen X, I grew up at a time when there likely should have been more concern for the impact of things on others.
If folks in the 1970s and 80s were offended about something — or were a shy, introverted kid — they were told they were too sensitive and to “buck up”.
Gen Xers weren’t given warnings or accommodated to help us cope with hard things, which was not great.
It drove many of us into therapy, frankly.
And generally, trigger warnings — the alert at the top of a story that its contents might be traumatizing or offensive — make sense on many levels. Attached to a graphic story about sexual assault, for example, it seems reasonable to put a warning.
Some folks may want the chance to step back and decide not to read or see something that could be so traumatizing.
My concern is around more run-of-the-mill disturbing stories.
Recently, I took an course through the University of Queensland in Australia.
Part of the class required us to watch some public service messages from years ago or other places around the world to see how fear is used to try to change behaviour. There was a 1955 short film about the a 1980s-era that showed people being knocked down like bowling pins by grim reapers, an that showed a woman and baby being hit by a car — blood and all — and one that showed eating the heads off of numerous folks. Finally, there was a long cartoon ad with a catchy tune showing ‘’ that depicted various ways people could get killed.
Watching these, all I could think was if they were shown on our 撸奶社区 platform, there would likely be a forceful call for them to either be taken down or slapped with trigger warnings.
But the messages are important, effective and valid. They could save lives if taken to heart.
My point is that life can be brutal and hard. Bad things can and do happen. If we allow people to avoid these facts, are we not doing them a disservice? This is where I struggle when it comes to trigger warnings.
of the issue, though more and more research points away from such warnings being helpful.
The bottom line is that we will continue to put trigger warnings on stories where it seems fitting, but I would also caution readers against avoiding all such stories.
It is important we see the world as it is, so we can prepare for it, navigate it, or help change it.
What do you think? Let us know your thoughts on trigger warnings with a letter to the editor: [email protected].
