Have trigger warnings gone way too far?
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I find them much more helpful than harmful.
As an autistic person, I don’t do well with surprises, or unexpected things happening, and a trigger warning, even if it’s not even for a topic that triggers me personally, helps me anticipate and regulate my expectations accordingly.
It’s like if I’m going to an event it’s extremely helpful for me to know ahead of time if there will be bright lights, or a lot of noise, so I can pack my shades and ear defenders to protect myself.
Sure, a warning might be worse for some people, people are extremely complex and diverse, but I feel discouraging trigger warnings is something that will cause extreme harm to accessibility online and, in my opinion, a world without trigger warnings is much worse than one with them.
Although I respect your experience, you’re providing a great examome of why researchers do not rely on self-report data. The reality is that the research does not support your claims.
You also seem to be conflating several different kinds of warnings. A warning about sensory things like flashing lights are different than trauma-related warnings.
As someone also on the autism spectrum, it is important we learn to cope with external stimuli rather than avoiding them so we can more successfully navigate the world.
In that case itd be helpful but i think she means like trigger warning for the word or brief mention of (for an example) abuse or alcoholism etc. in that case i agree because i know some people they feel like “gasp this triggers me” is their whole identity or theyre more fearful anytime they see a trigger warning. I had issues and now as long as its not overly detailed i can watch something but avoiding even slight meantions means it was harder to get over that trigger. I dont think ill ever get over my triggers completely theres some movies or shows i cant watch bc of a rape scene or something similar and drug shows are hard to watch aswell.
However flashing lights or loud noises aren’t typically related to a mental trauma theres autism epilepsy and probably others so i see nothing wrong with those i feel theyd help in that scenario however i could see it causing anxiety in others too. I remember feeling anxious when id see “jumpscare warning” then itd happen and im like oh..thats it? Lol
Also could see maybe a general warning in some cases like “in depth sexual talk or in depth self harm talk etc” so its not so specific it becomes an identity but also allows you to see if youre ready for that topic.
@Samantha Swansoni agree with you especially with trauma and sensory being different. Looking at it from a sensory pov i think it could be helpful to overcome that issue if youre prepared and fo it often which idk enough about sensory issues to say itd be better than no warning at all. Im curious to see if the study would be different from a trauma pov.
This is known as anecdotal evidence and there’s a reason people don’t use this method to research serious topics.
Speaking from my experience *only*, as someone who has experienced things like an active shooter, SA, ED, and loss of a parent, I find general warnings to be best. I feel like nowadays there are so many super specific trigger warnings tagged onto things. I think keeping TV warnings like language, sex, violence, is general enough to get a point across. Reiterating the specifics of triggers could possibly cause people to hold onto their trauma and even make it a part of their personality when it’s healthier to live with it not in it.
Yes! At some point we have to learn to have some coping skills and deal with the world as it is.
But it’s also important to be able to choose that for yourself. If I’m working with therapists to overcome trauma, and I have that trauma just sprung on me when I’m not ready, it can make problems worse.
Desensitization has always been key to coping with trauma. You aren’t fixed when you don’t have to see the problem, you’re fixed when the problem doesn’t phase you.
That is so well put!!!
Exactly! Exposure therapy is one of the best treatments for acute stress disorder and PTSD.
After my daughter died at full term before her due date, I was going to avoid walking past schools in our neighbourhood. But I didn’t. I also went into her room almost everyday. I talked to other loss moms. I need to face her death in some way every day. Although I’m desensitized to a lot of those things now, I still get emotional whenever holidays come around or when I see her little brother do something that I wish I could’ve seen her do. Trigger warnings I find can be over done but I understand the need for it for those with severe outcomes from specific content viewed.
I think there’s excellent points here. Counter argument, we are very familiar with “viewer discretion” notices in media. I believe there is a point of balance somewhere in all this.
Triggerwarnings have helped me a TON. Yes, you have to confront yourself with your traumas to overcome them. But no, people on YouTube are not my therapists, and randomly scrolling YouTube is not the safe environment needed to start out with that. Trauma therapy involves a LOT of learning coping strategies, learning how handle the stress of facing your traumas first. This is not provided by the people that tell us to „just stop avoiding our traumas“. As a trauma survivor currently in therapy, I have the space to slowly learn how to deal with my triggers, but YouTube is not that space. So please keep giving us trigger warnings. Or content notes. I‘m not always in the stable mindset to be able to deal with unexpected triggers and I‘m thankful when people give me the chance to just keep scrolling and avoid panic attacks and flashbacks.
I second this!
Yeah, people are neglecting that trauma victims should be able to choose how their desensitization process goes
As someone who has severe anxiety, is autistic, has adhd and has struggled with SH in the past, I think they are definitely helpful. They give the person the forewarning to click away or prepare for what they’re about to see which I personally think is always a positive thing. Like if I’m having a bad time with my mental health and I see a trigger warning about SH, mental illness or even just loud noises I can decide to move past it, whereas if there is no trigger warning sometimes it’s fine and sometimes I feel caught off guard and exposed to content that causes me to spiral. Sure it does cause some people anxiety but that’s probably a sign that they should scroll away and I think a lot of those people would be anxious anyways if they were just exposed to the content unwarned, so wouldn’t they rather see it coming so they could avoid any further stress? At the very least I would say trigger warnings show compassion and thought for people with traumas and mental illness, so for me even if anxiety is induced it feels slightly less bad knowing that they were trying to be mindful about it.
Something I do think is unhelpful and anxiety inducing though is when people put up trigger warnings without saying what it’s for, like just putting TW or something without anything else. Cause it’s not very helpful to be warned when you don’t know what you’re being warned for, and it’s stressful because if you do struggle with something then suddenly you might be like: oh god what’s about to happen or be said what if it’s (insert trigger).
Also something to think about is that trigger warnings aren’t just for people with mental illness or trauma, they’re also for people with physical health conditions like photosensitive epilepsy or people with sensory issues (like myself as I’m neurodivergent) who can become easily overstimulated by loud noises or flashing images. Trigger warnings just provide a small level of preparation for triggering content or give someone a second to scroll away if they know it will be triggering, whether physically or mentally or both.
I just think in my experience and from what I’ve heard from other people, they’re generally more likely to be helpful than they are to be unhelpful.
I have emetophobia. I’ve tried to get over it for years. So far no luck.
But anyway, I absolutely hate seeing anything even remotely related to someone getting sick to their stomach. If every movie and tv show and video on YouTube could have a trigger warning for me, I would be sooo happy and thankful.
I know that’s not how life works though so I just use my best judgement and hope for the best…
Some trigger warnings seem silly to me, but I can’t judge because I would love there to be more emetophobia trigger warnings.
And yes, I look up every movie I’m about to watch to see if it has “it” in it.
I can handle reading and typing the words but I know some emetophobes have trouble with that so just in case I won’t say it. 😉
I agree that desensitization is the best plan for facing trauma, but the thing is that no one gets to decide when someone gets to confront their traumas except for the person in cause and their therapist. Doing it in the wrong way at the wrong time can make it worse, so I think trigger warnings should still exist in order to let the person decide if they want to confront their traumas then or not.
Yes, thank you.
Yes omg exactly!
I think a description of what a Video is going to contain is helpful to deciding whether or not you choose to watch it. I find some early descriptive content very helpful. Calling it a trigger warning emphasizes its potential to be a problem to some and in my opinion, can make a person more conflicted, and then being hard on themselves if they chose not to watch. I think just keeping it simple and describing what the video is about should be left as is without prefacing it as a possible trigger.
Yeah like when someone puts tw: trypophobia
For me, if a brief explanation of what I’m about to watch is done. I’m happy to make the decision whether to watch it. I agree that avoiding it doesn’t help. I don’t want my ED to be part of my identity there is so much more to me that that. I do think TW are probably needed for certain True Crime videos 😂 so let’s keep those.
Trigger warnings are helpful when you don’t have the emotional capacity for anything more. I do actively work on reducing my emotion attached to certain topics but sometimes a lighthearted video ends up being way deeper than I could’ve handled at that moment.
I prefer the phrase “Content Warning” or CW.
Feels like you’re doing the tight thing by giving people a heads up about the type of content, but it somehow feels like a calmer way to phrase it.
I have appreciated content warnings myself, so that if I am not in the right head space I can choose not to engage.
I definitely don’t feel they have increased my anxiety in any way.
I second this
Yes! Use content warning instead. You can’t anticipate people’s triggers but it’s very kind to describe the content
Also, that is one study. What are the studies that show the opposite? Any meta-analyses there?
I wish they had been around growing up, struggling with self harm etc. I remember people bringing it up s*icide and my heart dropping, trying not to cry in public or wherever I was. I think total avoidance is harmful, but getting the space to encounter subjects as you’re ready for them is helpful. My heart goes out to ppl who may have recently encountered a loss, assault, or some other trauma, and inadvertently have to hear it being talked or joked about. It’s ok to get a warning buffer! (Also, a good way to know if something’s appropriate for kids around.)
This is a brilliant discussion to raise.
I like trigger warnings because I can decide if I am feeling mentally okay enough to proceed. There have been times where I’ve been really thankful that I saw a trigger warning because I was not in a place to view that content at the time, it is something I can revisit when I am stronger if I want to.
I think it truly depends on the subject. Sexual assault, eating disorders, child or animal abuse are all thing that are universally distressing enough to always justify a trigger warning in my opinion.
I find them to be helpful. It lets me decide whether or not I want to engage with my trauma in that moment.
It’s up to the individual if they engage with the material or not, that’s why the trigger warning is important. If people choose to avoid it, that’s their choice. If it has a negative outcome, that’s for them to confront with their therapist. Trigger warnings are invaluable to allow me to decide if I’m in a space to deal with something and lack of tw has absolutely caused me to read and be triggered by things I otherwise wouldn’t have engaged in.
When I’m just chilling in my bed after a long day of work, I don’t want to watch triggering content. My relaxation time just isn’t the time for me to be “facing my fears” and “learning to desentisize”, I already do that for the majority of the day. So I deeply appreciate trigger warnings on content, because it allows me to just straight up avoud it and continue having a good night, and deal with my trauma and triggers on my own time. I’ve been seeing a lot of “anti trigger warning” rhetoric and I just can’t imagine living a life where people expect others to be constantly fighting with themselves and their trauma when throwing a trigger warning in literally doesn’t harm anyone, but it could prevent someone from ruining their relaxing down-time. It’s up to each individual person what they do with a trigger warning, I’ve always appreciated them and used them to know which content to avoid for the sake of preserving my peaceful time.