Are trigger warnings necessary?

[Meg]

I understand that this is a loaded topic, so I'm asking everyone now to please please please keep things cool.

Okay, so trigger warnings. I'm curious to know how people feel about them. For those of you who don't know, a trigger warning is something you put over a story, work of art, article, etc that contains subject matter that can be very upsetting for people. Generally these are topics like rape, abortion, sexual assault, and other such unpleasantness.

The point is that if someone is a victim of some kind of violence, being reminded of it can "trigger" painful memories wrapped up in a panic attack. A trigger warning lets people know that the story, etc. contains things that can cause them to become very upset. It's basically a huge "heads up" for survivors of violence who maybe don't want to deal with that crap right now.

I always thought trigger warnings were a great, helpful thing until recently. I've seen all the coddling of young adults and it's ridiculous. A lot of young adults now believe that they need to protect themselves, and each other, from anything too deep, intense, or edgy. I personally think this is stupid and ties in directly to why I'm starting to think trigger warnings are more harmful in the long run that helpful.

I could go on and on about this, but I'm going to stop for now. I want to see what you guys have to say about this before continuing.

Thoughts?

EDIT: I should probably specify that this is going on in America. I don't know about other countries around the world. If anyone wants to share their own observations, please do.

 

[Innsmouth]

I kinda thoughts many young adults instead were trying to get into edgy, violent etc stuff, to make themselves feel more grown up as of lately.

 

[Meg]

I kinda thoughts many young adults instead were trying to get into edgy, violent etc stuff, to make themselves feel more grown up as of lately.

Obviously not everyone is the same. What I'm talking about is veeeeery popular in the feminist/equal rights movements. It's been spreading across college campuses too.

 

[Innsmouth]

Obviously not everyone is the same. What I'm talking about is veeeeery popular in the feminist/equal rights movements. It's been spreading across college campuses too.

oh god D: I'm so glad that I studied in design institute where were so many people and personalities, so trends were kinda absent. I think many feminists, or rather femi-nazis colouring stuff they don't like as harmful

 

[Demi-fiend]

It's been spreading across college campuses too.

I had a feeling this would happen.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/...itically-correct-racism-sexism_n_7534978.html

 

[AgentRedgrave]

A warning like a game or a movie has "Rated R for Brutal Scenes, Nudity, and Sexual Content" or "M for Violence, Blood and Gore, and Language" should suffice. But not before every incident.

 

[Shadow]

I, personally, don't like trigger warnings. As @AgentRedgrave said, I think one basic warning at the beginning is fine. But getting them almost nonstop feels almost belittling and like the person issuing the warning thinks everyone seeing it can't handle anything.

 

[ItWasAnEggTimer]

"I have zero trust that my audience will be able to handle gritty topics, better coddle them."

 

[Director Bison]

i heard this in a video that i can remember the name of but
a psychologist of some sort said the these trigger warnings are the opposite of what is healthy for a person

from what i remember the concept was if someone tries to never encounter what might trigger them then that will just make things that much worse when it does eventually happen

if they confront there experience then that will get them one step closer to over coming there experience

i assume it's the same mentality of if someone is afraid of flying they should take flying lessons

 

[WolfOD64]

The thing people need to understand is that there's a fine line between a Content Warning, and a Trigger Warning.

A content warning is an obligatory warning for anything that isn't suitable for younger audiences, sensitive viewers, or squeamish individuals who are of lesser will to endure anything of a graphic nature or correlating to a certain subject matter. These are easy to post, because society as a whole knows instinctively what kind of content might bother people: extreme violence, nudity, sexual content, profane language...everything that is censored or warned about in TV, films, books, comics, video games, and practically all forms of fiction. They're easy to apply and use as labels because they're well-known and established elements that have been shielded from the mainstream masses for years. The MPAA. The ERSB. The RIAA. Even little things, like news reporters giving a warning before airing disturbing footage on the news. These are all reasonable and approachable forms of content warnings, because they're intended to shield a particular audience from a particular showcase of content.

Trigger warnings are a different story entirely: they're not used to censor or warn people about specific content that you or I would consider offensive, or at least in a normal sense. It's ANYTHING that they think ANYONE would be offended by. This could be literally anything: from something legit, like the sex scenes in the Witcher 2, or even something outrageously-mundane, like someone wearing the color pink. What this means is that unlike Content Warnings, which are used to categorize very specific images and elements deemed for a different audience, is that literally ANYTHING can be considered "triggering", and offensive. And trying walk this razor's edge of not offending ANYONE EVER, with ANYTHING that MIGHT BE OFFENSIVE, is like tightrope-walking the Grand Canyon with a bunch of paranoid shrieking on every side if you so much as mistep. It's active, sporadic, obsessive, and frankly irrational expectations from content creators of any kind, to telepathically know what minuscule thing that might offend a specific person...not something widely-established as un-childfriendly or NSFW, but something extremely specific, mundane, and random.

And what's worse, the very notion of Tumblr-tier snowflakes claiming to be "triggered" by even mild offenses like sexism, nudity, political antogonizing, or self-proclaimed "acts of misogyny", is not only stupid: it's offensive. "Triggering" used to be a derogotory psychological term for fits of panic that people with ACTUAL PTSD have, usually war veterans or members of law enforcement, or even the delicate mental frame of elderly people....people who cannot help themselves when they fall into fits of panic, and have their mental health or even sometimes their physical status ruptured by images that strike terror into them.

It's absolutely disgusting, using such a serious and grave term to describe someone getting all upset over another person's post or content. These people have never suffered PTSD themselves, and feel entitled enough to compare a moment of discomfort whilst browsing the Goddamn Internet in in the same league as ruinous, mind-numbing fear embedded in the minds of people far less fortunate and far more scarred than them.

In short, Content Warnings are civil means of warning the average person of what is considered "inappropriate content" by typical, modern standards, and Trigger Warnings are the disgusting, overbearing hyper-sensitivity of shrink-wrapped Internet morons at its absolute worst.

 

[DreadnoughtDT]

@WolfOD64 Why oh why can't I like your comment more than once?

 

[LordOfDarkness]

@WolfOD64 Why oh why can't I like your comment more than once?

You can. You just have to unlike it first and then keep on clicking like.

 

[ItWasAnEggTimer]

You can. You just have to unlike it first and then keep on clicking like.

Yeah, but it doesn't count towards multiple likes, so the feeling of doing so is useless.

 

[LordOfDarkness]

Yeah, but it doesn't count towards multiple likes, so the feeling of doing so is useless.

True. But they always say it's the thought that counts

Anyway, excuse my little off-topic antics. Come now, I should really know better.

I'm pretty much in complete agreement with what @WolfOD64 said. Though I would like to add a couple of points of my own.

Needless to say, there is absolutely nothing wrong with reading a piece of written material and getting offended by it. Everybody's feelings are of course, understandably, their own. It's the sheer thought that each individual, whilst writing (or anything else) must at all times be weary, careful and considerate enough to respect each and everyone's feelings - whichever those may be.

Now you tell me how that is strictly a possible thing to be able to grasp. It's in every aspect an impossibly and highly improbable, unlikely thing to expect from someone when they are writing. It can be a difficult enough task for a writer to garner inspiration for their piece/s of work, let alone set aside the spark for their own creative juices just to merely forewarn us that such an outcome of events in the story might be offensive or trigger upsetting, unsettling, emotional issues that you've either experienced first or secondhand.

No. I'm not being rude and I will say that I mean this in no offensive manner, but...Having the right to feel offended by something or being sensitive to something is completely fine. However, at the end of the day, not everybody knows you on a personal level to understand how you might feel about anything and everything. Not everything will appeal to you.

As @WolfOD64 put it - Content warnings know their place. You observe the content. Nothing too difficult to have to follow. It's pretty straight forward.

- Trigger warnings are different. How can you put basically the entirety of the universe into categories of what could trigger this or that? When everybody is different and will be affected differently by things. You can't say, "I put a trigger warning about Bambi's mom being shot because it might cause upset for those who have lost parents", or "I put a trigger warning for my character that I introduced who suffers from depression just incase anyone else is themselves".

That's like saying that nowadays, each individual out of our entire global population needs to be personally taken into consideration because their feelings are at risk at all times. Now that's just a little absurd, don't you think?

 

[cheezMcNASTY]

They exist for a good reason. Whether the behavior of an adolescent annoys you, they're probably very helpful to people who have been traumatized but are still looking for a good read. That important fact, I think in black and white terms, renders them necessary regardless.

Besides, it's been scientifically proven that whatever adolescents try to make cool will wind up being lame. Best to just ignore them.

 

[Viper]

They exist for a good reason. Whether the behavior of an adolescent annoys you, they're probably very helpful to people who have been traumatized but are still looking for a good read. That important fact, I think in black and white terms, renders them necessary regardless.

Besides, it's been scientifically proven that whatever adolescents try to make cool will wind up being lame. Best to just ignore them.

Following video will sadly prove that trigger warnings is something not only adolescents abuse and ruin its initial purpose.

That said, I do approve of warning for something larger, though quite often that can be deciphered if one just pays attention to genre and rating. Trigger warning for blood cause there is a bloody nose or something equally small at some point in the story is ridiculous, yet I've seen people put it, not so much cause they care, but cause they are afraid of being criticized, if not even assaulted online, for not coddling their readers.

 

[V]

My opinion : the way forward is to educate and overcome, not to censor and cry about every little thing.

On that note: why is swearing even a thing.

 

[WolfOD64]

My opinion : the way forward is to educate and overcome, not to censor and cry about every little thing.

Well said.

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

There isn't much I can say that hasn't already been said--content warnings are one thing, but trigger warnings go a bit above and beyond what's actually necessary. Yes, some things may trigger traumatic experiences in some people, but a content warning usually gives you enough of an idea what to expect from a show/movie/book/etc. to know whether you should have anything to do with that sort of media, or not.

 

[V]

I suppose the crux of this debate is whether or not even the most trivial comment/tweet/whatever a person may encounter is potentially sensitive material that requires a warning.

Films, music and other media that are widely believed to need a parental advisory/be potentially disturbing usually come with warnings when legally sold. Books... maybe not so much but I always figured the censors out there assumed the people least able to think for themselves don't read books because they don't tend to come with warnings unless they're potentially attractive to children (i.e. violent or sexual comics or graphic novels) or art books that might contain nude images. When I worked in a bookstore, they had just begun to start selling certain manga (such as Battle Royale) in plastic wrap so you couldn't even look at the contents in the store, and books about say, the murals of Pompeii came (hilariously) with "explicit content" labels on the covers. Before that, no books had much of a warning of any kind. The Battle Royale novel isn't sold in a plastic wrap, for example.

That's fine, I don't have a big problem with that. Except that "parental advisory" sticker slapped on the front of an artbook that's kept on the highest shelf so the little kids can't giggle at it is kind of a put off if it's printed onto the cover and you're buying the book for its aesthetics.

As for whether or not a tumblr comment or a tweet or a forum reply needs a trigger warning... I can only roll my eyes as ask if people should issue trigger warnings before they tell jokes or stories in person. The culture of offense - or the right to feel offended and totally kick off and scream about it in places like this seems to go way beyond any bounds of common sense. If a person truly can't handle any input without it first being vetted and having warnings all over it, I'm not sure they're fit for the Real World.

As for other kinds of warning that have emerged lately such as the "ideologically sensitive" labels on places like DA - that are actually a subsection of "adult content" borders on ridiculous. Sure, not everyone might want to view a drawing about Nazis or Mohammed etc., but if you're going to freak out if you encounter unpleasant politics or ideas you don't agree with without warning, you might as well excuse yourself from any venue of free expression. Or from the planet, maybe, because you're not going to get far outside your door in life without encountering things you don't like.