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 After the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and after the 2016 Pulse
nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, researchers repeatedly
surveyed more than 4,000 U.S. adults who hadn't been involved in the
events.
"We found that individuals who consumed more bombing-related media
in the aftermath of the bombings were more likely to exhibit
posttraumatic stress symptoms and fear of future negative events
over time - and they were then more likely to consume more media in
the aftermath of the Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida
three years later," said senior study author Roxane Cohen Silver of
the University of California, Irvine.
"And, the more individuals consumed media in the aftermath of the
Pulse Nightclub massacre, the more distress they reported in
response to that mass violence event," Silver said by email.
"Trauma-related media exposure perpetuates a cycle of increased
distress and media use over time."
Some previous research suggests that people are drawn to
wall-to-wall news coverage of traumatic events as a way to ease
their apprehension and cope with stress, the study team notes.
But the current study, published in Science Advances,suggests this
can backfire.
Researchers found that repeated exposure to explicit violent content
may exacerbate fear about future traumatic events, which in turn
fuels more consumption of media coverage about the next bombing or
shooting.
People are particularly vulnerable to this cycle of distress when
they have personally experienced violence or when they have been
diagnosed with a mental health disorder, the study team notes.
To understand the connection between stress and being drawn to media
coverage of tragedies, researchers surveyed participants four times:
shortly after the marathon bombing and nightclub shooting happened;
six months later, and after one and three years.
Two years after the Boston bombing, people who had previously
displayed symptoms of post-traumatic stress were more apt to worry
about the potential for tragedy to strike again. And this worry was
associated with tuning in to more media coverage and more symptoms
of stress after the Pulse shooting.
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It may be hard to do, but some people really may need to turn off
the news, said Ziming Xuan of the Boston University School of Public
Health.
"We do not know how much is too much, but if one feels not
comfortable already, it is wise to refrain from further exposure and
to speak to someone who can help," Xuan, who wasn't involved in the
study, said by email.
"This is perhaps more important for children and young adults who
are increasingly exposed to social media, and also for those who
experienced PTSD," Xuan added.
Not all media are the same, and the amount of stress some people
experience may depend on where they're getting their information,
said Aaron Kivisto, a psychology researcher at the University of
Indianapolis who wasn't involved in the study.
"There's a tremendous amount of variability in the types of media
accessible to the public, and some options present a clear risk of
traumatization and no amount of consumption should be considered
safe," Kivisto said by email.
"While most acts of mass violence covered by the media soften the
visible realities of the situation, internet-connected viewers are
able to traumatize themselves unwittingly at the click of a button,"
Kivisto advised.
"For example, the recent Christchurch shooting included live video
recorded by the shooter and was made available to anyone with an
internet connection, and terrorist groups like ISIS have distributed
graphic videos for years," Kivisto said. "Media viewers need to be
cautious to avoid inadvertently traumatizing themselves by following
their curiosity."
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2UwsSQE Science Advances, online April 17,
2019.
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