Vicarious trauma after viewing media: Difference between revisions
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== Outcomes: How (social) media impacts mood == |
== Outcomes: How (social) media impacts mood == |
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Due to the increase of online social interactions, researchers have questioned the impact of indirect online contact on the emotions and thoughts of online users. While past studies have found that emotions can spread between people during direct social contact due to concepts like mimicry,<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last=Coviello|first=Lorenzo|last2=Sohn|first2=Yunkyu|last3=Kramer|first3=Adam D. I.|last4=Marlow|first4=Cameron|last5=Franceschetti|first5=Massimo|last6=Christakis|first6=Nicholas A.|last7=Fowler|first7=James H.|date=2014-03-12|title=Detecting Emotional Contagion in Massive Social Networks|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0090315|journal=PLoS ONE|volume=9|issue=3|pages=e90315|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0090315|issn=1932-6203}}</ref> researchers were unsure on if the same could happen through indirect contact made over social media. Coviello et al. (2014), found that people’s posts on social media influenced the emotions and behaviors of other people who were their friends or who followed their online account.<ref name=":7" /> They also found that people tended to use language similar to the initial post they saw when responding or further commenting on their own posts to which causes them to further spread the same emotionally valent message to others.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last=Kramer|first=Adam D.I.|date=2012-05-05|title=The spread of emotion via facebook|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2207676.2207787|journal=Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems|location=New York, NY, USA|publisher=ACM|doi=10.1145/2207676.2207787}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> This research expanded on the knowledge that people’s emotions were only influenced by nonverbal communication like the facial expressions and body language of the people around them to now also being influenced by text-only communication.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /> |
Due to the increase of online social interactions, researchers have questioned the impact of indirect online contact on the emotions and thoughts of online users. While past studies have found that emotions can spread between people during direct social contact due to concepts like mimicry,<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last=Coviello|first=Lorenzo|last2=Sohn|first2=Yunkyu|last3=Kramer|first3=Adam D. I.|last4=Marlow|first4=Cameron|last5=Franceschetti|first5=Massimo|last6=Christakis|first6=Nicholas A.|last7=Fowler|first7=James H.|date=2014-03-12|title=Detecting Emotional Contagion in Massive Social Networks|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0090315|journal=PLoS ONE|volume=9|issue=3|pages=e90315|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0090315 |pmc=3951248 |issn=1932-6203}}</ref> researchers were unsure on if the same could happen through indirect contact made over social media. Coviello et al. (2014), found that people’s posts on social media influenced the emotions and behaviors of other people who were their friends or who followed their online account.<ref name=":7" /> They also found that people tended to use language similar to the initial post they saw when responding or further commenting on their own posts to which causes them to further spread the same emotionally valent message to others.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last=Kramer|first=Adam D.I.|date=2012-05-05|title=The spread of emotion via facebook|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2207676.2207787|journal=Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems|location=New York, NY, USA|publisher=ACM|doi=10.1145/2207676.2207787}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> This research expanded on the knowledge that people’s emotions were only influenced by nonverbal communication like the facial expressions and body language of the people around them to now also being influenced by text-only communication.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /> |
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== Outcomes: Media influencing trauma reactions == |
== Outcomes: Media influencing trauma reactions == |
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Revision as of 06:28, 10 January 2022
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Over the last fifty years, there has been an increase in the different types of media that are accessible to the public.[1] Most people use online search engines, social media, or other online news outlets to find out what is going on in the world.[2] This increase in access to these different ways of receiving information can cause people to view negative images and stories about traumatic events that happen to others that they would have otherwise not known about. One thing to consider is how the dissemination of this information may impacting the mental health of people who identify with the victims of the violence they hear and see through the media. The viewing of these traumatic videos and stories can lead to the vicarious traumatization of the viewers.[3][4][5]
Vicarious trauma
Vicarious trauma develops after someone learns or hears about someone else experiencing a traumatic event. The information they hear may have a negative psychological impact on the person even though they did not experience the trauma themselves.[6] Most research on vicarious trauma has focused on how mental health providers, medical workers, and first responders respond to the trauma they hear about in their everyday work experiences.[6][7] While the person does not directly experience the trauma, they have symptoms like someone who is diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder.[6] Some of those symptoms include hypervigilance, difficulties sleeping, changes in how they view the world and themselves, and intrusive images of the trauma.[7]
Media
As research on vicarious trauma has expanded, researchers and journalists have begun to analyze how it might impact the general public. One of the ways information about traumatic events is dispersed is through the media which includes the news broadcasts and social media applications. The NY Times commented on how even though traumatic events have happened since the dawn of time, the news, and more recently social media, is what allows people across the world to know about major events.[8][9] The difference between major news organizations and social media is that most news organizations discuss how viewing traumatic or violent events impact their staff and consumers.[10] Some media organizations also make a point to flag content that could be considered disturbing to their viewers to decrease the amount of violent and traumatic content they release online.[10] While major news outlets often regulate what they post, they still show the aftermath of traumatic events on their websites and in their newspapers. Examples include pictures of the twin towers after 9/11, the Boston bombing, Rodney King video, and footage of the L.A. riots.
Social media
While major media companies were the main source people went to get most of the information about major events, today, people have also begun turning to social media to stay updated. Since the information is posted by private individuals, they are allowed to post unedited footage that may contain graphic and traumatic material to their social media platforms.[10] There is also the risk of having distressing content show up on someone's page as an ad while they are browsing material that has nothing to do with the traumatic event[8] which can make it harder to avoid since smartphones have new updates that show up around major events that happen in the world.[11]
Outcomes: How (social) media impacts mood
Due to the increase of online social interactions, researchers have questioned the impact of indirect online contact on the emotions and thoughts of online users. While past studies have found that emotions can spread between people during direct social contact due to concepts like mimicry,[12] researchers were unsure on if the same could happen through indirect contact made over social media. Coviello et al. (2014), found that people’s posts on social media influenced the emotions and behaviors of other people who were their friends or who followed their online account.[12] They also found that people tended to use language similar to the initial post they saw when responding or further commenting on their own posts to which causes them to further spread the same emotionally valent message to others.[13][4] This research expanded on the knowledge that people’s emotions were only influenced by nonverbal communication like the facial expressions and body language of the people around them to now also being influenced by text-only communication.[12][13]
Outcomes: Media influencing trauma reactions
As discussed in the section above, emotional contagion can happen through different forms of indirect contact through media. Over the last ten years, researchers have found data to support the idea that some people are vicariously traumatized when viewing or reading media pertaining to a traumatic event.[3][4][11][14] Interestingly, there have been studies that questioned if media leads to a greater impact on the development of some symptoms of vicarious trauma and if a specific type of media had was greater impact than the others. Holman et al. (2013) found that people who watched six or more hours of media coverage up to a week after the Boston bombings had higher stress levels than people who were directly exposed to the bombing.[3] Goodwin et al. (2013) found that the participants in their study showed greater stress reactions when they took in information about the trauma from social when compared to those who used more traditional forms of media.[15]
Researchers have also show that social media is a major risk factor for a person to developing trauma symptoms[15][16] or even be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.[5] The frequency of exposure to traumatic or disturbing information through media is related to the development of anxiety and PTSD related symptoms.[17] While the initial reaction to viewing media may cause acute stress symptoms, generally they decrease over time. It is the repeated exposure to the distressing information or images that may result in the development longer-lasting symptoms.[17]
References
- ^ Sullender, R. Scott (2009-06-05). "Vicarious Grieving and the Media". Pastoral Psychology. 59 (2): 191–200. doi:10.1007/s11089-009-0227-5. ISSN 0031-2789.
- ^ Nielsen, Alessio Cornia, Annika Sehl, David A.L. Levy and Rasmus Kleis. Private Sector News, Social Media Distribution, and Algorithm Change. ISBN 978-1-907384-49-3. OCLC 1275066280.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c Holman, E. Alison; Garfin, Dana Rose; Silver, Roxane Cohen (2013-12-09). "Media's role in broadcasting acute stress following the Boston Marathon bombings". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (1): 93–98. doi:10.1073/pnas.1316265110. ISSN 0027-8424.
- ^ a b c Monfort, Emmanuel; Afzali, Mohammad Hassan (May 2017). "Traumatic stress symptoms after the November 13th 2015 Terrorist Attacks among Young Adults: The relation to media and emotion regulation". Comprehensive Psychiatry. 75: 68–74. doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2017.02.015.
- ^ a b Ramsden, Pam (2015). "Viewing violent news on social media can cause trauma". Science Daily. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Jenkins, Sharon Rae; Baird, Stephanie (October 2002). "Secondary traumatic stress and vicarious trauma: A validational study". Journal of Traumatic Stress. 15 (5): 423–432. doi:10.1023/a:1020193526843. ISSN 0894-9867.
- ^ a b Hallinan, Sean; Shiyko, Mariya; Volpe, Robert; Molnar, Beth E. (September 2021). "On the back burner: Challenges experienced by change agents addressing vicarious trauma in first response and victim service agencies". Traumatology. 27 (3): 316–325. doi:10.1037/trm0000291. ISSN 1085-9373.
- ^ a b Wayne, Teddy (2016-09-10). "The Trauma of Violent News on the Internet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
- ^ Ben-Zur, Hasida; Gil, Sharon; Shamshins, Yinon (May 2012). "The relationship between exposure to terror through the media, coping strategies and resources, and distress and secondary traumatization". International Journal of Stress Management. 19 (2): 132–150. doi:10.1037/a0027864. ISSN 1573-3424.
- ^ a b c "Can social media cause PTSD?". BBC News. 2015-05-25. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
- ^ a b Goodwin, Robin; Lemola, Sakari; Ben-Ezra, Menachem (March 2018). "Media use and insomnia after terror attacks in France". Journal of Psychiatric Research. 98: 47–50. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.12.006. ISSN 0022-3956.
- ^ a b c Coviello, Lorenzo; Sohn, Yunkyu; Kramer, Adam D. I.; Marlow, Cameron; Franceschetti, Massimo; Christakis, Nicholas A.; Fowler, James H. (2014-03-12). "Detecting Emotional Contagion in Massive Social Networks". PLoS ONE. 9 (3): e90315. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0090315. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3951248.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ a b Kramer, Adam D.I. (2012-05-05). "The spread of emotion via facebook". Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York, NY, USA: ACM. doi:10.1145/2207676.2207787.
- ^ Pfefferbaum, Betty; Nitiéma, Pascal; Newman, Elana (2019-03-26). "Is Viewing Mass Trauma Television Coverage Associated With Trauma Reactions in Adults and Youth? A Meta‐Analytic Review". Journal of Traumatic Stress. 32 (2): 175–185. doi:10.1002/jts.22391. ISSN 0894-9867.
- ^ a b Goodwin, Robin; Palgi, Yuval; Hamama-Raz, Yaira; Ben-Ezra, Menachem (August 2013). "In the eye of the storm or the bullseye of the media: Social media use during Hurricane Sandy as a predictor of post-traumatic stress". Journal of Psychiatric Research. 47 (8): 1099–1100. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2013.04.006. ISSN 0022-3956.
- ^ Goodwin, Robin; Palgi, Yuval; Lavenda, Osnat; Hamama-Raz, Yaira; Ben-Ezra, Menachem (2015-05-23). "Association between Media Use, Acute Stress Disorder and Psychological Distress". Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. 84 (4): 253–254. doi:10.1159/000377706. ISSN 0033-3190.
- ^ a b Feinstein, Anthony; Audet, Blair; Waknine, Elizabeth (2014-08-01). "Witnessing images of extreme violence: a psychological study of journalists in the newsroom". JRSM Open. 5 (8): 205427041453332. doi:10.1177/2054270414533323. ISSN 2054-2704.