What is Media Trauma and are you a victim of it?

Media Trauma can be defined as experiences through our media and personal devices that hinder or harm our capacity to be mentally whole.

When we think of trauma, many of us think about major traumas like violence, war or accidents; however, more subtle traumas come from living in a hyper-mediated environment where we are constantly in the presence of imagery and information that we can't escape or control.

Media trauma can be created by many things such as media violence, pornography, advertising, news media, and more. There is also the different but related concept called "digital identity" which is when someone becomes so obsessed with their online image/life they become alienated from themselves and their true identity. This form of self-estrangement has been linked to depression and stress disorders in adolescents and young adults.

A [recent] survey of 2,000 Americans found 53 percent of respondents are feeling burnt out on screens over the last few months. The study showed that before the COVID-19 pandemic, the average American surveyed was getting about four hours of screen time per day. Since the quarantine started, that number has jumped up to over six hours.” (https://nypost.com/2020/09/02/average-americans-time-spent-staring-at-screens-has-skyrocketed-during-pandemic/)?

The nature of our digital isolation creates an environment where we have no witnesses, where our bodies have no place to “shake off” the stressful event, where we are often physically caught in the “freeze” position before we even see the content. Because of the normative ways we currently engage with our media, there will be very few people who are not going to be traumatized on some level.?

Another study conducted by the University of Sheffield found that screens can act as triggers for people with mental health conditions. A trigger is something that brings up memories of prior trauma and/or painful feelings, which then makes it harder to deal with current or future stressful events. This means that you may not be able to engage in media activities like gaming, social networking, etc without re-inflicting some kind of emotional damage on yourself; even if this damage was caused by your activity before the pandemic broke out.

This does not mean we should stop using our devices altogether, rather it is meant to inspire us all to engage more consciously with each other and ourselves through them while also finding peace offline whenever possible. We need to find a balance between our digital and analog lives. And, to do so we must start by acknowledging the possibility that many of us are affected by Media Trauma even if we do not think or feel it.? As consumers of media, we must shift how we consume and engage to be more aware and deliberate in what we expose ourselves to. We must engage in conversations about the effect of content we consume and not just the content itself. This is not about creating rules or limitations but instead encouraging everyone to find their own way through.

So how can we do this?

The first step would be to recognize the dilemma by identifying some common symptoms of Media Trauma. There are many symptoms out there but here are a few to get you started:

- Feeling like it is difficult to concentrate on daily tasks (i.e. school, work) because of constant distraction from media content (i.e., notifications, ads)

- Difficulty transitioning between digital and analog activities? (i.e., immediately picking up your phone after watching TV or paying attention to a child vs playing games on phone)

- An increase in stress/anxiety-related symptoms (i.e., trouble sleeping, angry outbursts or irritability, etc.)

- Depression and/or isolation

This list is not exhaustive, and it doesn’t mean that people who experience these symptoms are Media Trauma victims. Symptoms can be different for everyone and they change over time depending on the person’s media habits and life circumstances. You may notice some of these symptoms or you may not, but the important thing to remember is that we all have a responsibility to take care of ourselves and one another.

We need to recognize that all digital content has an impact on our bodies and minds—everything from social media posts about a friend's vacation to the number of times a news organization uses a scary word or image in its articles.

We also need to recognize that we are not alone in our experiences. We all experience Media Trauma differently and there is no “normal” way to recover from it. The important thing is for each of us to be mindful about what we expose ourselves to, when, with whom, and how long so that we give ourselves the best chance at mental independence post-trauma.

Feel free to leave your comments, questions, and any personal experiences you would like to share.