Content Warnings Do Not Reduce Distress, Study Shows - eviltoast

Advocates for the use of trigger warnings suggest that they can help people avoid or emotionally prepare for encountering content related to a past trauma. But trigger warnings may not fulfill either of these functions, according to an analysis published in Clinical Psychological Science.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21677026231186625

  • Sneezycat@sopuli.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    17
    arrow-down
    5
    ·
    6 months ago

    No, but maybe if you have been mauled by a dog you appreciate that kind of warning.

    • mbirth@lemmy.mbirth.uk
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      arrow-down
      13
      ·
      6 months ago

      That’s stupid. Those pixels on a screen can’t hurt anyone. And if you think otherwise, you should seek professional help instead of expecting from everyone else to adjust to your mental issues.

      • VirtualOdour@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        16
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        6 months ago

        But it’s kinda stupid to cry about warnings too, why shouldn’t people be able to avoid content they don’t want to watch? If you’re such a tough guy that pixels don’t scare you then you’re tough enough that you can probably live through a world that chooses to make concessions in the form of content warnings for those who need or prefer them.

        • mbirth@lemmy.mbirth.uk
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          arrow-down
          5
          ·
          6 months ago

          Why do these snowflakes just not filter the content like normal people? Most apps support this. Why does everybody else have to click away the CW just because a minuscule fraction of people might get irritated?

          • Passerby6497@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            6 months ago

            …aren’t the content warnings a form of filter? Are you such a snowflake that you’re absurdly triggered by having to click through something?

          • Sneezycat@sopuli.xyz
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            edit-2
            6 months ago

            “Snowflake is a derogatory slang term for a person, implying that they have an inflated sense of uniqueness, an unwarranted sense of entitlement, or are overly emotional, easily offended, and unable to deal with opposing opinions”

            idk, you keep using this word but it applies more to your comments than to people that are just dealing with trauma…

            Also, I don’t use filters but I’ve heard from people that do that they are bad cause they might filter some things you’re okay with. Context matters.

            • mbirth@lemmy.mbirth.uk
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              6 months ago

              Then how did these traumatised people ever watch the news on TV or read a newspaper where there are no CWs? How did they take part in discussions on Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, etc.? And how are they supposed to work through their trauma when they never get confronted with it?

              If they are okay with “some things”, they’d have to open each article behind a very generic CW-description anyways. What’s the purpose of the CW then?

              • Sneezycat@sopuli.xyz
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                3
                ·
                6 months ago

                That’s their problem. The thing here is you’re complaining about CW because you have to CLICK it, and can’t understand it’s useful for some people. Instead, you keep complaining and saying it’s useless.

                Can’t you be a bit empathic? Like “I don’t understand CW but some people want them, I can deal with having to click through the warning”. Or are you entitled to open things in one click over other people feeling comfortable?

                • mbirth@lemmy.mbirth.uk
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  arrow-down
                  3
                  ·
                  6 months ago

                  So, you’re saying these traumatised people need to find ways to manage public TV and newspapers, but on Mastodon everybody else is supposed to accommodate for them and add CWs?

                  Again, the people that might(!) profit from the CWs are a minuscule amount compared to the people inconvenienced by them. And, as the linked study explains, they even seem to make things worse. So my point is: Just get rid of them. According to that study, that might even be beneficial to these traumatised people.

                  • Sneezycat@sopuli.xyz
                    link
                    fedilink
                    arrow-up
                    2
                    ·
                    6 months ago

                    “these traumatised people” lol. It’s not even about that. The most common CW that you probably use and enjoy is the NSFW warning. You understand that you might be at work and not wanting to see nudity or gore or other sensitive stuff, right? If you’re eating while you’re browsing posts, maybe you want a “CW: poop” before you open a post and barf a bit because you’re eating, not because you can’t handle poop.

                    And yeah, “everyone else” is supposed to accommodate the minorities. Your rhetoric reeks of alt-right, I guess you’re “inconvenienced” by reserved parking spots, and for inclusive language, and want to “get rid of them” too?

      • GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        6 months ago

        If only past trauma was so easy to deal with. Perhaps a little consideration for others in a social space isn’t too much to ask.

        • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          6 months ago

          Honestly I’m sick of this shit. It really feels like we’ve stopped having consideration for trauma and are now just enabling it.

          Trauma sucks, but you have to get over it. That’s the goal. Not to live in a little bubble wrap reality. Society will not conform to your particular fucked-upness.

          • GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            6 months ago

            Like most healing processes, recovering from trauma takes time. It’s not reasonable to expect that everyone will be recovered from their trauma at any given time. And a society that won’t give people time to heal before dealing with more of the shit they’ve been through is more than a little flawed. Hell, some people deal with their trauma by rejecting empathy rather than acknowledge that they’ve been hurt. I know I did that for decades.

            • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              6 months ago

              It’s not reasonable (or, I would argue, even HELPFUL) to have society censor itself to cater to the tiny number of traumatized people.

              • GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                2
                ·
                6 months ago

                I would say it’s calloused not to. Moreover, estimates put PTSD rates in America at about 6%. That doesn’t sound tiny to me, and that’s not even traumatized people. That’s people so traumatized they can’t handle it in a typical manner and will probably need help to recover, not your run-of-the-mill trauma that we all deal with and move on. Note that even those without PTSD don’t need an extra helping of reality courtesy of random strangers on the internet while they’re dealing with their trauma.

      • Mesophar@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        6 months ago

        Are we supposed to adjust to your mental issue of being irrationally angry at content warnings?