Link: “The Following News Release Contains Potentially Disturbing Content: Trigger Warnings Fail to Help and May Even Harm”
Interesting finding about trigger warnings. This study found that their use doesn’t seem to help survivors “brace” for upsetting info, and can long-term aggravate PTSD by increasing their sense of identification with their trauma (preventing healing). On the other hand, I feel like content warnings (more broadly) can be useful as just a “content you might wish not to see” filter. Like, I find stories of animal cruelty or neglect really distressing, not due to personal trauma, I just do… I’m sure a trigger warning wouldn’t help “soften the blow” of such content for me, but that’s not really the point, the point would be giving me something to filter out so I never have to see it. Honestly, I think it’s that ability to filter stuff out that’s key, so you don’t even need to see the content – but that applies more to social media feeds than uni lectures I guess.
Jessica Smith is a left-wing feminist who loves animals, books, gaming, and cooking; she’s also very interested in linguistics, history, technology and society.