In the media, upsetting images, videos, and messages are uploaded daily. For people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anything from watching an episode of their favorite TV show on Netflix to scrolling through their feed on Instagram could remind them of their traumatic experience(s) and result in an emotional and physical reaction from the person suffering such a mental illness. According to the Huffington Post, "Triggers, images, sounds, smells and, yes, texts, that provoke specific emotional and physical responses in people, are not about 'squirming.' They are complex, unpredictable and highly individual reactions to material that evokes pain and fear." Basically, trigger warnings are used to prevent such painful reactions and create a safer, happier environment for everyone.
The image above is an example of warnings used in the media to tell viewers of potentially upsetting content, as Game of Thrones is a particularly violent show and thus more likely to remind someone of a traumatic experience. The same type of warnings area used in many other shows, including American Horror Story, with frequent violence and different types of assault featured frequently that could easily remind someone of such an occurrence, as violent encounters are not uncommon. According to the Nebraska Department of Veterans' Affairs, "An estimated 7.8 percent of Americans will experience PTSD at some point in their lives, with women (10.4%) twice as likely as men (5%) to develop PTSD. About 3.6 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 to 54 (5.2 million people) have PTSD during the course of a given year." Millions of Americans alone experience PTSD every year, meaning that each suffers the fear of even checking the news in case it may bring about a horrible memory that would evoke such a reaction that could be as strong as when the event originally occurred. To protect the mental stability of millions of Americans, trigger warnings should be implemented on a higher scale, overall creating a much safer environment.
Recently, all types of media have attacked the use of trigger warnings, accusing them of censoring media and allowing the next generation to become hypersensitive and humorless. According to a Huffington Post article contradictory to the article mentioned above, "If the truth might hurt someone’s feelings or cause discomfort, well then we need to cuddle them whilst in a communal fetal position." The article pokes fun at college students' request for such warnings, claiming that they prevent them from learning about potentially upsetting events. This is a common misconception about trigger warnings; their purpose is to protect mentally ill students from revisiting traumatic experiences, not to limit the learning of the entire student population. Warnings will not change what is taught; they will simply alert students of the material that is to be covered in case it could be dangerous. This misunderstanding of the purpose of warnings leads to heavy criticism, as many people claim that alerting people of potentially upsetting subject matter is limiting their own means of education. In reality, the only people affected by trigger warnings are those who need them, and all others who claim to be harmed or disadvantaged by them have a misunderstanding of both the meaning and usage of what a warning truly is. In many social media posts, people have humiliated people with mental disorders such as PTSD and OCD by claiming to be "triggered" about something while only being mildly upset or disagreeing with something. Again, this ignorance results from the gross misunderstanding of trigger warnings and the individuals with mental disorders for whom they are absolutely necessary in order to enjoy the media without the threat of a reaction hanging over them.
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