Are you repeatedly and for long hours watching gruesome images and videos on social media and youtube. Beware! You could end up with mental health problems. This could vary in severity and type and the vulnerable groups are likely to be more affected. This could take the form of PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder that was earlier picked up in war veterans. This is called second-hand or vicarious PTSD.
What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD is a form of health problem seen in combat veterans after they have faced violent fights on the battle-field. There could be flashbacks, avoidance, sleep pattern disturbances and mood changes in the person. This occurs after the gory and violence observed and linger on for a month after the traumatic event.
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| PTSD (Source: Verywell mind) |
Online violent videos can cause something similar. But since it is not first-hand trauma, it is called second-hand or vicarious PTSD. Walter Busuttil of veterans' mental health charity Combat Stress states:
"There is a level of resilience that may be very high in some people and very low in others, and social media may actually affect particularly vulnerable people. I always tell my patients it's not a competition. We don't say that anyone's got anything more severe than anyone else."
He is of the opinion that vicarious PTSD is a well-confirmed phenomenon in clinical practice.
Whatsapp: why not good?
University of Bradford study
A 2015 study done in the University of Bradford revealed that people who were exposed to disturbing and violent content online have risk of developing PTSD. In the study, nearly one-fifth of the people had it. Lead researcher Pam Ramsden said:
"If a particular person who scored high on the scale [used in the study] came into a GP's office, we could easily diagnose them with PTSD, because they have the same symptoms."
Online videos do not have any warning signs unlike the traditional videos shown on TV. In the latter, censorship is present and even warnings are flashed across the screen for viewers and especially kids. But the mini-screens of mobile phones have no such displays. The net result is that people continue to watch it for long and hurt themselves with it.
Additionally, vicarious PTSD is also seen in police officers and journalists. As part of their job, they are forced to see such movies and video clips everyday. But they are trained mentally for the job and their seniors also warn them of ill-consequences. Thus, they are better prepared. But this is not so in the case of innocent and gullible social media users. They are neither trained and warned. Hence chances of ending up with some symptoms of PTSD are common. It might not be the full-fledged PTSD but an incomplete form might result. But it nonetheless requires therapy and be controlled properly and in time. Walter says:
"This study is not saying that people develop PTSD. This study is saying that we can detect some symptoms that are measurable that are similar to PTSD."
Pam explains:
"On television or even on the radio, you get a warning: 'The following story could be disturbing'. You don't get that kind of warning on social media. Now everything is on YouTube, and things that we don't necessarily even pick up on are being viewed millions of times - car accidents, all kinds of disturbing things."
"We really can't censor those things, and I'm not for censorship. What I'm saying is that people need to be aware that those images can cause disturbances or add to life stress. In the same way that if you eat fast food all the time, it's going to be bad for your health. In the same way, if we're viewing violent images all the time, I believe it can have a significant impact on our mental health."
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