A meta-analysis of the effects of trigger warnings and content notes • Hacker News Board

Re: A meta-analysis of the effects of trigger warnings and content notes

#71

Post by maxbond » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 10:51 PM UTC

esperent wrote: post #69

maxbond wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was a TW on the opening screen about suicide. I'd have liked to see it. Obviously that was my friend's error and not the game's, and we discussed this afterwards. What I wanted to highlight is that a trigger warning was erased, and this was a very vulnerable time for me when it would have been very useful. I'm not entirely sure I've understood your objection properly, but I'll try to address your questions. Yea…

I usually see two viewpoints on trigger warnings from reasonable people (i.e. not people caught up in US identify politics). Those who oppose trigger warnings like the commenter above you, who believe that you should be ready to handle anything a piece of fiction throws at you. After all, it's just fiction, right? Generalizing, this usually comes from people who have never experienced deep trauma or at least who have…

For what it's worth I would totally support a mechanism, like a registry key, environment variable, wherever configuration information can be accessed, to opt out of trigger warnings. Software should work for everyone and everyone means everyone.

Re: A meta-analysis of the effects of trigger warnings and content notes

#72

Post by A4ET8a8uTh0 » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 10:52 PM UTC

lanyard-textile wrote: post #63

A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the overall concern is that people in general seem all too willing to ignore reality. I can't really speak for any particular group in US ( or even in the old country ), because I am sufficiently weird that I do not really fit anywhere. Yay me. That said, trigger warning is already a trigger word and may need to replaced with something else to avoid emotional reaction ( although I admit I do not have a good r…

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Re: A meta-analysis of the effects of trigger warnings and content notes

#73

Post by rsynnott » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 10:58 PM UTC

A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #46

all2well wrote: post #13

“To many conservatives, trigger warnings are a symptom of a world gone mad: a fragilizing ritual meant to insulate the delicate worldview of a weak-minded generation.” Conservatives routinely get upset about the presence of gay people in media, among many other things. Is that somehow in a different category? (This is in reply to the article linked by the author of the study in that Twitter thread)

I think the overall concern is that people in general seem all too willing to ignore reality. I can't really speak for any particular group in US ( or even in the old country ), because I am sufficiently weird that I do not really fit anywhere. Yay me. That said, trigger warning is already a trigger word and may need to replaced with something else to avoid emotional reaction ( although I admit I do not have a good r…

> That said, trigger warning is already a trigger word and may need to replaced with something else to avoid emotional reaction ( although I admit I do not have a good replacement off the top of my head ).

"Content warning" is fairly well-accepted (and broader, in that it makes more sense to use it to describe things that people simply _do not want to see_; see discussion of NSFL elsewhere.

Re: A meta-analysis of the effects of trigger warnings and content notes

#74

Post by lanyard-textile » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 11:01 PM UTC

Mezzie wrote: post #55

I struggle with trigger/content warnings as someone with PTSD stemming from severe childhood neglect/abuse (e.g. I was allowed to just rot in the basement for a week with a fever of 104+ as a child). The reason is because there seems to be a standardized list of 'real' triggers that people agree on, and I'm often triggered by depictions of loving families. Which nobody is ever going to warn for. I also have major dis…

TW, possible depictions of loving families & depictions of unwanted contact:

Nobody should be arguing against any kind of trigger warning in those spaces. If someone is pushing back, they should be removed from the space -- They're actively working against the point of the space.

>Which nobody is ever going to warn for.

I will now in those kinds of spaces.

Anecdotally I've also seen trigger warnings for father's day and mother's day, which seems like a trend in this direction.

>I have no idea what makes violence or sexual related cross the line into needing a warning

Well, nobody can know for sure :) Many of us have to guess when we put the trigger warning in, more so if we can't relate to the trigger. That can be much harder when you're dissociative but it's hard in general.

What's helped me is to mentally flag any potentially unwanted contact, physical or verbal, and find the best trigger warning that captures the text. Sometimes that means leaving a warning for just that, unwanted contact -- Sometimes I can refine that further to a kind of abuse, e.g. sexual or physical abuse.

Re: A meta-analysis of the effects of trigger warnings and content notes

#75

Post by rsynnott » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 11:02 PM UTC

robertlagrant wrote: post #37

zug_zug wrote: post #8

What the heck is this? The presumption of this article is that trigger warnings get you emotionally ready for an adverse subject, but I'm pretty sure that's not what they are for. I figure most people often want warnings on their books/videos/etc "e.g. this is a live-leak of somebody dying" so they can avoid the material. --- Per his twitter "Well, too bad for all y'all. Trigger warnings do not seem to encourage avoi…

We've had that for decades as PEGI ratings or film classifications. I was under the impression that trigger warnings were something different.

> I was under the impression that trigger warnings were something different

So, the basic intent, on the face of it, is a little different (a "trigger warning", properly, warns of something which may trigger PTSD, a content warning merely warns of something without any particular view on _why_ someone might want to avoid it), but in practice they're functionally similar.

Re: A meta-analysis of the effects of trigger warnings and content notes

#76

Post by rsynnott » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 11:05 PM UTC

kulahan wrote: post #31

romwell wrote: post #18

This study seems to be pretty limited regardless of how it's carried out. People seem to be hung up on the new term "trigger warning" when we've had content warnings since time immemorial. Nobody seems to be writing the articles on "efficacy" of movie ratings, or putting "18+" labels on content. We, as a society, understand that not all content is suitable for all audiences... when it comes to sex, and sex only, it s…

He explains this in the thread - it appears as though trigger warnings only serve to increase anxiety until the trigger is experienced, and at no point does it improve or worsen the experience. So he analogizes this by saying "Imagine a doctor prescribed you a pill and you asked if it was going to help". If "Oh no, it won't help, but it might cause some very minor harm." was the response, you'd probably find a new do…

> it appears as though trigger warnings only serve to increase anxiety until the trigger is experienced

So, I'd see things like this as more warning people that something contains content they might want to _avoid_. The analysis seems to be more about cases where people read the warning and then _consume the content anyway_, but is that really the common case?

Re: A meta-analysis of the effects of trigger warnings and content notes

#77

Post by A4ET8a8uTh0 » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 11:08 PM UTC

anonymouskimmer wrote: post #59

A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the overall concern is that people in general seem all too willing to ignore reality. I can't really speak for any particular group in US ( or even in the old country ), because I am sufficiently weird that I do not really fit anywhere. Yay me. That said, trigger warning is already a trigger word and may need to replaced with something else to avoid emotional reaction ( although I admit I do not have a good r…

"because I am sufficiently weird that I do not really fit anywhere" Do you want to fit somewhere but haven't yet found a place to fit, or do you not care about fitting anywhere? If it's the latter you may have a social-variant blindspot (halfway down this reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Enneagram/comments/kx0wfa/russ_huds... ). If it's the former you're probably just looking in the wrong places, or aren't engag…

>

Do you want to fit somewhere but haven't yet found a place to fit, or do you not care about fitting anywhere?

Seems somewhat personal, but I will respond. Neither. I see myself as an outsider, which allows for a very different set of perspectives. For better or worse, I like the fact that I do not belong everywhere equally.

I did not directly say that, but that is a good catch.

I will admit that this portion of history was news to me so I appreciate you sharing it ( this is why I like HN; you get to learn things ). It is a genuinely sad story to me ( and were I in their place, I would be livid ).

That said, Republicans have learned some lessons it seems ( creations of GAG - https://www.gaysagainstgroomers.com/about; expanding into black and latino communities ).

I agree in general. This is also why I qualified my statement with lately. Between BLM/WFH phenomena/movements ( last 2 years ) the majority of the recent effort does not seem to be on the republican side ( statement, which your links actually support ). Anecdotally, even I am aware of crazy religious group trying to ban Quake ( but that is ancient history by internet standards ):D

Re: A meta-analysis of the effects of trigger warnings and content notes

#78

Post by DontchaKnowit » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 11:12 PM UTC

Pxtl wrote: post #12

drewpc wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does NSFL mean "Not Safe For Life"? I wasn't familiar with this term before and have never seen content labeled with it.

I usually hear it as "not safe for lunch", as in something so horrifying it will make it difficult to keep food down.

It is definitely "not suited for life" (or not safe for life)

As in, something nsfw is not okay for work, something nsfl is not okay fir life in general.

Re: A meta-analysis of the effects of trigger warnings and content notes

#79

Post by A4ET8a8uTh0 » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 11:21 PM UTC

maxbond wrote: post #43

A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm. I am torn for several different reasons including the topics I would want to address, but I feel I should focus on one thing. That is a reasonable statement and even expectation on the surface. I might accept it as rationale for graphic movies and so on, but your example is visual novel, where you choose your own adventure - a form of media that is almost guaranteed to put you in unusual and unexpected situation…

There was a TW on the opening screen about suicide. I'd have liked to see it. Obviously that was my friend's error and not the game's, and we discussed this afterwards. What I wanted to highlight is that a trigger warning was erased, and this was a very vulnerable time for me when it would have been very useful. I'm not entirely sure I've understood your objection properly, but I'll try to address your questions. Yea…

First, thank you for your answers. Some disclosure may be necessary. I am a strong free speech proponent, which colors my views of the world somewhat. I will admit that in this case, I had no real objection, but I was more trying to understand how you see the world and to what extent some things are ok ( which you correctly identified anyway ). In other words, I found your post interesting and decided to engage.

Believe it or not, I think we are oddly closely aligned based on your answers.

If there is a place where are not aligned, this may be it. Having seen ( sometimes heard of, sometimes read about ) some of the horrific things people can do to one another ( sometimes willingly and enthusiastically ), I have certain level of discomfort of trying to hide reality from people ( and trigger warnings enable that ). I do not mind those for movies and, say, other forms of entertainment, but I worry that it is going to move to other non-entertainment spaces, where, for example, augmented reality will be asked to remove all traces of 'unpleasantness'.

In other words, I do see a slippery slope here, although I can give you that is a gentle and slow one.

Re: A meta-analysis of the effects of trigger warnings and content notes

#80

Post by anonymouskimmer » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 11:39 PM UTC

A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #77

anonymouskimmer wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"because I am sufficiently weird that I do not really fit anywhere" Do you want to fit somewhere but haven't yet found a place to fit, or do you not care about fitting anywhere? If it's the latter you may have a social-variant blindspot (halfway down this reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Enneagram/comments/kx0wfa/russ_huds... ). If it's the former you're probably just looking in the wrong places, or aren't engag…

> Do you want to fit somewhere but haven't yet found a place to fit, or do you not care about fitting anywhere? Seems somewhat personal, but I will respond. Neither. I see myself as an outsider, which allows for a very different set of perspectives. For better or worse, I like the fact that I do not belong everywhere equally. I did not directly say that, but that is a good catch. I will admit that this portion of his…

"Seems somewhat personal, but I will respond. Neither. I see myself as an outsider, which allows for a very different set of perspectives. For better or worse, I like the fact that I do not belong everywhere equally."

For what it's worth this is a particularly common worldview for a particular couple of personality/motivational types (of which I, and many other people in places such as HN, happen to be a member of one).