Researchers found no direct correlation between media trauma and functional impairment, but they found that excessive exposure to traumatic content increased the likelihood of developing stress-related disorders. However, the effect may vary based on the exact content shown and the length of time spent viewing it.

Michigan State University

In recent years, access to media content has dramatically increased. Although this makes information more accessible, some studies indicate that exposure to traumatic images can lead to stress-related symptoms.

Media Exposure and Stress

Holman, E. Alison, Garfin, Dana Rose, Lubens, Pauline, Silver, Roxane Cohen. (2019). Media Exposure to Collective Trauma, Mental Health, and Functioning: Does It Matter What You See? Clinical Psychological Science, 8(1), 111-124. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2167702619858300

Media Exposure to Collective Trauma, Mental Health, and Functioning: Does It Matter What You See?

After 9/11, there was an increase of stress-related symptoms and diagnosable conditions in the time shortly following the attack. This led some researchers to wonder if traumatic evets could have large-scale mental health impacts.

Terrorism and Societal Trauma

To test if this phenomenon existed in other situations, researchers created an online survey sent to a few thousand participants after the Boston Marathon Bombings. Participants estimated the amount of time they spent watching content related to the attack, gave self-reported mental health scores, and answered if their daily life was impaired in anyway.

Further Investigation into Psychological Effect of Mass Media

Correlation Between Media Trauma and Impairment

There have been many studies of social media and the effects of prolonged use, but results have been varied. To help make conclusions, a meta-analysis was conducted to put all this information together.

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