Trigger warnings

[Jay]

Someone is going to have to come in here with an unpopular opinion for the sake of bravery and argument. Since for the most part everyone seems to be saying the same thing with different and pleasantly detailed viewpoints. "Trigger warnings are good. But sometimes people use them stupidly and that isn't okay." Seems to be the general consensus.

And I respect this decision, I really do and I was generally intrigued by everyone's take on this. But otherwise, I'm afraid I disagree. So call me insensitive if you want but I'm going to give you my blunt opinion on this one as I'm rather callous on the subject.

Trigger warnings are excessively pointless things on the internet.

Sure, in the movie industry they're important, because movies are a worldwide and accepted media that almost everyone out there with access to any form of media will interact with once or twice. The same can be said with television and the like. But unfortunately this place we find ourselves in, the social internet sphere, especially in the less focused on areas, is in no way the same as that. On the internet, it's such a small scale in comparison. So insignificant when compared to the larger intellectual medium of the World itself. Places like image boards in particular are what I refer to here... or really anywhere where a random image will be posted on the internet.

In the end the majority of people whom post the images won't have any of those triggers that people talk about... and in the end how many people are going to see the image anyway?

They won't put trigger warnings... because subconsciously to these common everyday people, those individuals that require said warnings are completely irrelevant. Not because the poster is cruel or malicious, but because the odds are that said person whom posted the content is in no way affiliated with the trigger in question, that considered why would they think about it when posting their images, videos or media? Why should they think about it?

Movie and other massive media industries HAVE to think about said things because of the size of their user population, their monetary reliance on their work being appreciated and the massive backlash of them upsetting an entire medium of people without warning. They're not putting those warnings there because they care about you, they're putting them there because they'd get in trouble if they didn't. It's that risk of trouble that MAKES unrelated people REMEMBER these triggers at all.

On the internet? There's no trouble or backlash in the long run... and even when there is it won't be major. It's not that they're not putting the triggers there on purpose, it's that they have no real reason to even think about everyone else's triggers unless they or someone they know is related to such a trigger, without reason to remember the triggers they won't remember the triggers. People who post trigger warnings anyway will do it because they don't want people getting upset... but again the large majority of people will not care. At all.

To be honest, I don't blame them.

The internet is a wonderful place full of wonderful people and experiences. But if you're afraid that something you find offensive will show up and trigger you...? Well then you'd best avoid the internet entirely because you are DEFINITELY going to run into it eventually. This is the most varied and differential place we as a race know, this is a wonderful thing.

However it is also exactly why the minority with trigger warnings will never be taken into consideration by everybody... or in fact by a majority of people on the internet as a whole.

tl;dr

To finalize, the internet is full of crap that will trigger people regardless because nobody cares about the minority ad their triggers and in reality you can't blame them for not doing so because it's a subconscious thing a lot of the time.

You putting a trigger warning on something you post is pointless since the next person down the line probably won't. If people with triggers do not want to be triggered then they should stay in friendlier places like this site here, or just stop going on the internet in general because they WILL get triggered eventually if they don't.

Sorry if this seems harsh but it's true, if you get mad because something someone else made triggers you then you really need to take a break from the online world because nine times out of ten the person responsible isn't going to give a ****.

I mean look at 4chan. I love it there but it's an evil place... and it's not the only place of its kind either.

Oh and on the note of tumblr? It was indeed a good time when they were raided. That place is full of stupidity and drivel anyway. Best just keep away.

 

[Grey Wind]

As someone who has had Anxiety, trigger warnings do nothing to help. It's really easy to fall into a trap of avoiding things that may find traumatic. If you can't face trauma and avoid it, how are you ever going get over it?

The point is to allow someone decide how to handle their trauma. Everyone reacts to things like that differently and confronting things that trigger them isn't going to work for everyone.


Also, I agree with Harley's post about tumblr. I really have to roll my eyes at these comments praising 4chan's "raid".

 

[Chikara]

I honestly think we're raising a generation of victims.

Some people can't deal with certain imagery because it's cringey to them, and some people actually went through some real trauma, that warrants the reactions they might have toward questionable content.

My whole thing is, where is the line between an understandable trigger, and an overreaction? I dislike the fact that we're going along with, as Harley and Grey Wind mentioned, the ridiculous reactions of crazy people on Tumblr. Considering- as well as conforming with the feelings of someone who saw an image of the inside of a pomegranate, and demanded that the original poster tag it as gore. Because apparently it looks like a heart. ?????

We shouldn't be teaching our kids to make sure whatever offends them is nowhere near them, and everyone else should go along with it. I was always taught to hold your head up and overcome the challenges that make life TRULY difficult. Avoiding such things will only make matters worse for you in the long run.

 

[twocows]

Reposting from my comment on an article about the subject by the Escapist.

As far as real PTSD goes (and not Tumblr PTSD), I can understand how these sorts of things can be helpful. However, I think it's really a matter of how far out of our way we think we need to go to accommodate people with special needs.

For instance, how far out of their way do people go for other trigger-type disorders? Take epilepsy, for instance. I think most people would be willing to add a warning if requested. However, I don't think people usually go out of their way to design things with epilepsy in mind. There are plenty of other disorders like that, too. Is it really reasonable to ask people to add warnings (or worse, remove content) to everything that might trigger someone's disorder? I'm not a medical doctor, I doubt I even know a fraction of the things that might end up triggering someone's disorder.

I think most people with these sorts of disorders understand that there are going to be things out there that cause these sorts of issues. When you're diagnosed with something like this, your doctor usually educates you about all of these kind of things. It's unfortunate that these people have these kinds of problems but there is only so much we can reasonably do to accommodate people. It's not really our responsibility to begin with.

I believe that how far we need to go is really up to each person to determine for themselves. I would probably be willing to add warnings like this if someone specifically contacted me to request it and I felt that they had a good reason, I just don't think I would build it in by design unless it was something really obvious.

I honestly think we're raising a generation of victims.

Some people can't deal with certain imagery because it's cringey to them, and some people actually went through some real trauma, that warrants the reactions they might have toward questionable content.

My whole thing is, where is the line between an understandable trigger, and an overreaction? I dislike the fact that we're going along with, as Harley and Grey Wind mentioned, the ridiculous reactions of crazy people on Tumblr. Considering- as well as conforming with the feelings of someone who saw an image of the inside of a pomegranate, and demanded that the original poster tag it as gore. Because apparently it looks like a heart. ?????

We shouldn't be teaching our kids to make sure whatever offends them is nowhere near them, and everyone else should go along with it. I was always taught to hold your head up and overcome the challenges that make life TRULY difficult. Avoiding such things will only make matters worse for you in the long run.

I agree with this entirely. As far as post-Tumblr stress disorder goes, people really need to just grow up.

 

[Chikara]

Reposting from my comment on an article about the subject by the Escapist.




I agree with this entirely. As far as post-Tumblr stress disorder goes, people really need to just grow up.

Exactly. I've gone through my own trauma, things I don't feel I should make public knowledge. But do I demand or expect other people to conform to or think about my personal problems because I don't want to have to be reminded of it in any way(however vague)? Absolutely not, since it's my problem to deal with and not theirs to consider whenever applicable. It's unrealistic and weak.

Then again to be completely fair, some people are more able to deal with such things than others and I think it has to do with upbringing. Hence, generation of victims.

 

[Aljam]

To finalize, the internet is full of crap that will trigger people regardless because nobody cares about the minority ad their triggers and in reality you can't blame them for not doing so because it's a subconscious thing a lot of the time.

You putting a trigger warning on something you post is pointless since the next person down the line probably won't. If people with triggers do not want to be triggered then they should stay in friendlier places like this site here, or just stop going on the internet in general because they WILL get triggered eventually if they don't.

Sorry if this seems harsh but it's true, if you get mad because something someone else made triggers you then you really need to take a break from the online world because nine times out of ten the person responsible isn't going to give a ****.

I mean look at 4chan. I love it there but it's an evil place... and it's not the only place of its kind either.

Oh and on the note of tumblr? It was indeed a good time when they were raided. That place is full of stupidity and drivel anyway. Best just keep away.

I think you worded that post flawlessly. 4chan is a terrible place though, not because it's an evil place, but because the the quality of posting is terrible. I've never had quality discussion on that site aside from /m/. The problem is that the more popular boards have so many people in them that discussion devolves into drivel and reaction images where otherwise a good discussion could be had. I personally like the infinity board system on 8ch as it really gets chans out of the early '00s. Also the idea of decentralizing the moderator staff from the administrator staff is glorious and since anyone can make a board it really feels like the old wild, wild west. If a board that discusses something to your liking starts having board owner troubles, you can make your own board with your own subset of rules. It's almost like reddit minus post karma, which is good because post karma sucks. (Remember when PC had it?)

The point is to allow someone decide how to handle their trauma. Everyone reacts to things like that differently and confronting things that trigger them isn't going to work for everyone.


Also, I agree with Harley's post about tumblr. I really have to roll my eyes at these comments praising 4chan's "raid".

I find that avoidance therapy doesn't work in most cases. The longer you avoid a traumatic thought, the more traumatic it may seem, thus triggering you more.

Also in the case of 4chan's "raid", tumblr actually raided them first. It's laughable to think that a group of people think that there would be no repercussions for their actions when you try to kick a hornet's nest with millions of hornets.

Also look how easy it is to reword that comment "praising" 4chan.

Oh and on the note of 4chan? It was indeed a good time when they were raided. That place is full of stupidity and drivel anyway. Best just keep away.

I find that as communities get larger, the quality of posting can devolve seemingly instantly. I used 4chan more frequently at a time where I could start to see the changes take place more rapidly than what the older users were describing. There's a general term for that, cancer.

A lot of people seem to give imgboards a lot of flack for not having member registration, I personally find it more freeing as you don't have an identity to fall back on. Everyone treats you based on your quality of posts and not your race, gender, sexuality. "Fag" is used as a sort of honorific, not a slur and once you start to understand the local dialect you can have some great discussions about seemingly anything.

I guess on a final note, everything on the internet can be offensive or terrible. It depends on how much of a thick skin you have and how sensitive you are. The internet is not real life, a lot of people experience disconnect from their real-life identity and their online persona. If you can't distinguish a difference between the two then maybe you should stop using the internet for awhile and go outside and enjoy life.

 

[Star-Lord]

I find the thought of "Don't go on the internet if you get triggered" kind of irresponsible and completely unrealistic? Of course I think there's a bit of personal responsibility involved (Be smart enough not to go to 4chan because you know the community there isn't going to be sensitive to that sort of thing) but then we also need to ask about the personal responsibility of those who are purposefully being callous or edgy/insensitive/whatever.

I find that avoidance therapy doesn't work in most cases. The longer you avoid a traumatic thought, the more traumatic it may seem, thus triggering you more.

This brings me up to a new point. This reeks of a generalized assumption, although I think the thoughts behind it come from a good place. I guess for me I just think that telling people how to deal with their personal problems (Unless I'm like a really close friend or something) is just really rude? I mean, for example I've dealt with the process of bereavement and know many people who have lost a loved one as well. I could easily tell them how to deal with it and don an attitude of "Well I dealt with it this way therefor you should do [x]" It'd be incredibly easy for me to give that attitude and self-importance. Instead I offer my support in any way that they want it. Everybody deals with a process like that differently.

When you think about it, everybody is different. You have to cater to the needs of people in a professional setting, so I don't see why it's so difficult to do it in a personal setting either? You simply can't tell somebody to do something then expect them to do it perfectly and to your liking. That's just a part of life. As it relates to trigger warnings, it just seems like a common sense thing I suppose. It doesn't take that much out of my day to help someone out.

All in all, I dunno. While I certainly think some "triggers" could are absolutely ridiculous sounding and support the attitude of "Within reason" most everyone has adopted in the thread, I think it's more worthwhile to examine the attitude an individual will have when they choose not to respect these warnings or outright ignore them.

Also in the case of 4chan's "raid", tumblr actually raided them first. It's laughable to think that a group of people think that there would be no repercussions for their actions when you try to kick a hornet's nest with millions of hornets.

who the fuck even cares either group "raiding" the other is dumb and pointless. let's drop this one lol.

 

[Grey Wind]

Exactly. I've gone through my own trauma, things I don't feel I should make public knowledge. But do I demand or expect other people to conform to or think about my personal problems because I don't want to have to be reminded of it in any way(however vague)? Absolutely not, since it's my problem to deal with and not theirs to consider whenever applicable. It's unrealistic and weak.

Then again to be completely fair, some people are more able to deal with such things than others and I think it has to do with upbringing. Hence, generation of victims.

I think you're kind of overreacting... like "demanding" is kind of an exaggeration. I get that there are people who go too far (as with everything), but in general I don't think that simply asking for people not bring up/to warn them about certain topics or material is as unrealistic or "weak" as you're making it out to be. It's just basic decency and politeness to warn someone about certain content/avoid certain topics.

Also, the whole "generation of victims" things seems a little callous. I don't think you can expect everyone to deal with trauma the same way, especially if they're suffering from something like anxiety or depression.

 

[They call me Brandon Lee]

dude theres nothing you can really do to prevent people from getting triggered, the best you can do is just stop the thing when someone actually has a problem. theres only a few triggers that are common enough to really warrant warnings such as epilepsy or graphic content and those already have warnings anyways

most trigger warnings are redundant and unnecessary

also, people, triggered does not mean "mildly upset" it means going into a clear state of emotional distress induced by memories/flashbacks. its not always going to be the thing that was exactly that, sometimes its just a song or a sound or a picture or something like that. so many fucking morons going around using it just as a way to censor people and thats just pathetic. not everything is going to suit your needs

I think you're kind of overreacting... like "demanding" is kind of an exaggeration.

asking for trigger warnings is a demand and in many cases is used to express censorship for things that some whiny little shit just doesnt happen to like and it's pretty condescending to be so shitty to someone who actually has genuine triggers for basically stroking your pseudo-social justice e-penis

 

[Chikara]

I think you're kind of overreacting... like "demanding" is kind of an exaggeration. I get that there are people who go too far (as with everything), but in general I don't think that simply asking for people not bring up/to warn them about certain topics or material is as unrealistic or "weak" as you're making it out to be. It's just basic decency and politeness to warn someone about certain content/avoid certain topics.

Also, the whole "generation of victims" things seems a little callous. I don't think you can expect everyone to deal with trauma the same way, especially if they're suffering from something like anxiety or depression.

I absolutely am not overreacting, haha. I think you missed the parts where I agreed with you completely, though.

You also missed the part where I said "I know not everyone deals with trauma the same way".

Also, the generation of victims part is completely valid, an example is that we're teaching "don't bully" as opposed to "stand up for yourself". We're teaching "trigger warnings" rather than "face your demons".

Again, so you don't misunderstand, I've said that people deal with everything differently from the other person.

 

[They call me Brandon Lee]

Also, the generation of victims part is completely valid, an example is that we're teaching "don't bully" as opposed to "stand up for yourself". We're teaching "trigger warnings" rather than "face your demons".

thank god some fucking common sense in this forum

the problem with teaching people to "not bully" or really "not anything" is that people don't fucking give a shit whether or not its wrong, theyre still gonna do it anyways. it's like telling a rapist "swiper! no swiping!". they don't give a damn about whether or not you dont want them to do it, theyre going to do it anyways, theres already laws that punish people from doing that, hell some serial rapists go to prison for life and that's not enough to stop them, what makes anyone think that telling people to stop bullying or stop raping or stop whatevering is going to work

you should teach people how to protect themselves so theyre no longer targets

going back to triggers, the reason why trigger warnings honestly are detrimental is because theyre 1) easily abusable, just look at that shithole that is tumblr to see how that can get out of control, 2) redundant, most times youre not really gonna be surprised by the content containing a trigger since most triggers are avoidable 3) triggers have to be worked around because unfortunately the world is not going to cater to your needs because the world is gonna keep spinning. part of learning how to live with trauma is learning how to live with it, not avoiding it.

i have triggers myself, for example listening to a song from super smash bros for wii u reminds me of a dark time back a few months ago where i almost committed suicide, so when i hear that game's menu music im brought back to that. i have to learn how to deal with it and eventually separate the horrible feelings with that song if im going to be able to play the game with music on (unmodded). but how the fuck are people even supposed to know about that trigger? how are they even supposed to warn me of that? how am i supposed to even know until im triggered the first time? i was actually excited to play the game until all the feelings came back.

some things are well known enough to be triggers such as epilepsy warnings and graphic content but you cant expect some random obscure thing to be covered. i mean how are you even supposed to predict that, triggers arent just "lol this happened so every time something similar happens then you will act the same way", thats such a juvenile and dumb interpretation and its totally wrong, triggers are like "there was a song playing in the background when something terrible happened and every time you hear the song it brings you back". the major reason why trigger warnings dont work is because theyre based on that completely idiotic view of what they actually are, thanks to assholes on the internet who got butthurt over something completely stupid that they didnt agree with

 

[Star-Lord]

also, people, triggered does not mean "mildly upset" it means going into a clear state of emotional distress induced by memories/flashbacks. its not always going to be the thing that was exactly that, sometimes its just a song or a sound or a picture or something like that. so many fucking morons going around using it just as a way to censor people and thats just pathetic. not everything is going to suit your needs

I think most people in this thread knew that? That's not to be like catty but you're making it sound like people are completely running with a completely other idea than what people have actually said.

asking for trigger warnings is a demand and in many cases is used to express censorship for things that some whiny little shit just doesnt happen to like and it's pretty condescending to be so shitty to someone who actually has genuine triggers for basically stroking your pseudo-social justice e-penis

You're gonna have to explain to me how asking people to go "Hey [x] is in this media" is censorship. They're not telling people to completely change their works or nothing.

going back to triggers, the reason why trigger warnings honestly are detrimental is because theyre 1) easily abusable, just look at that shithole that is tumblr to see how that can get out of control, 2) redundant, most times youre not really gonna be surprised by the content containing a trigger since most triggers are avoidable 3) triggers have to be worked around because unfortunately the world is not going to cater to your needs because the world is gonna keep spinning. part of learning how to live with trauma is learning how to live with it, not avoiding it.

i have triggers myself, for example listening to a song from super smash bros for wii u reminds me of a dark time back a few months ago where i almost committed suicide, so when i hear that game's menu music im brought back to that. i have to learn how to deal with it and eventually separate the horrible feelings with that song if im going to be able to play the game with music on (unmodded). but how the fuck are people even supposed to know about that trigger? how are they even supposed to warn me of that? how am i supposed to even know until im triggered the first time? i was actually excited to play the game until all the feelings came back.

some things are well known enough to be triggers such as epilepsy warnings and graphic content but you cant expect some random obscure thing to be covered. i mean how are you even supposed to predict that, triggers arent just "lol this happened so every time something similar happens then you will act the same way", thats such a juvenile and dumb interpretation and its totally wrong, triggers are like "there was a song playing in the background when something terrible happened and every time you hear the song it brings you back". the major reason why trigger warnings dont work is because theyre based on that completely idiotic view of what they actually are, thanks to assholes on the internet who got butthurt over something completely stupid that they didnt agree with

Not to be a twat but if people on tumblr or w/e actually manage to escape a lot of bad mental health due to their system of trigger warnings then who are you to say they don't work? Genuinely curious.

 

[They call me Brandon Lee]

I think most people in this thread knew that? That's not to be like catty but you're making it sound like people are completely running with a completely other idea than what people have actually said.

except there is, maybe not in this thread but it should be discussed

i am talking about behaviour i've see, there is a very common misconception that being triggered works in one of the following ways

1. you are upset by something/overreact to something
2. you are triggered whenever something that is a replica of the traumatic situation

the truth is that its neither one of those things. triggers are best described as a sentimental value attached to a visual, audio, or tactile stimulus that brings that individual back to an undesirable event. this misconception should be addressed regardless of if people in the thread believe it or not

You're gonna have to explain to me how asking people to go "Hey [x] is in this media" is censorship. They're not telling people to completely change their works or nothing.

because people will encourage people to go and rewrite or reproduce products so that such text isn't displayed to expand their audience. this is already seen on tumblr. this isn't to mention all the people who abuse trigger warnings to try to hide content. i understand that you like to put on your blinders to these things because you dont like the fact that they happen but they do happen and continuing to deny the problem will only make it worse

anyways there's a huge difference between "labeling something as containing specific content" and a trigger warning; most people already label content on these sites so that it has some sort of visibility in searches. why do we need trigger warnings other than to attract attention to a specific piece of the work? content is already labeled, we already have an established norm (nsfw, for example), we already tag and label our content, why do we need more? what because some twat decided to deliberately trigger themselves by searching their trigger to go and tell people to trigger warn it?

Not to be a twat but if people on tumblr or w/e actually manage to escape a lot of bad mental health due to their system of trigger warnings then who are you to say they don't work? Genuinely curious.

because life doesn't cater to them and their needs and they will need to adapt

sure, they can hide from it on tumblr, but the real world isn't tumblr, the real world is the real world. the real world

you make it sound like being a tumblr obsessed Hikikomori is somehow a good thing, its not, if your running away from your problems and not addressing them, how will you be able to address them in real life? im not asking to go and deliberately search out material that is triggering but you cant possibly honestly believe that running away from a problem that makes you feel uncomfortable is the best way to deal with it, seriously?

in all honesty it sounds like you have no idea what really is the best way to approach your problems. if you have something that causes you to have that sort of response, you need to give yourself time to be able to learn how to deal with it because if you dont you will not make any progress in being able to help yourself. your literally saying "oh its okay to run from your problems as long as it makes you happy", which is like alcoholism to be quite frank. people often become alcoholics because they abuse alcohol to escape from the difficulty in their life and instead of approaching the problem they make another one by trying to avoid it. now not all people who do nothing to try to adapt to their triggers become as dysfunctional as alcoholics but your really not convincing me that its a good thing either to be so avoidant. theyre happy now but when they have to deal with that trigger in real life it can very easily negatively impact theier lives and they wont know how to deal with it properly

and nobody expects this shit to happen overnight, sometimes it takes years to finally come to terms with things, but you cant climb a mountain without taking a step. if you hide in the base camp all day youll never reach the peak and youll never be able to become free of those triggers

 

[Star-Lord]

because people will encourage people to go and rewrite or reproduce products so that such text isn't displayed to expand their audience. this is already seen on tumblr. this isn't to mention all the people who abuse trigger warnings to try to hide content. i understand that you like to put on your blinders to these things because you dont like the fact that they happen but they do happen and continuing to deny the problem will only make it worse

Asking to trigger warn something won't lead to that at all. People are still going to consume and create media that caters to darker and potentially triggering themes that people won't be comfortable with.

anyways there's a huge difference between "labeling something as containing specific content" and a trigger warning;

No there... really isn't. We've already discussed that TV guide warnings are basically irl versions of a trigger warning.

because life doesn't cater to them and their needs and they will need to adapt

sure, they can hide from it on tumblr, but the real world isn't tumblr, the real world is the real world. the real world

Except that I was talking about the concept of a trigger warning in the moment. Obviously people are going to need to adapt and move along past it? You're not giving me a lot credit.

you make it sound like being a tumblr obsessed Hikikomori is a good thing, its not, if your running away from your problems and not addressing them, how will you be able to address them in real life? im not asking to go and deliberately search out material that is triggering but you cant possibly honestly believe that running away from a problem that makes you feel uncomfortable is the best way to deal with it, seriously?

I... literally never said that at all.

in all honesty it sounds like you have no idea what really is the best way to approach your problems. if you have something that causes you to have that sort of response, you need to give yourself time to be able to learn how to deal with it because if you dont you will not make any progress in being able to help yourself. youre literally saying "oh its okay to run from your problems as long as it makes you happy", which is like alcoholism to be quite frank. people often become alcoholics because they abuse alcohol to escape from the difficulty in their life and instead of approaching the problem they make another one by trying to avoid it. now not all people who do nothing to try to adapt to their triggers become as dysfunctional as alcoholics but youre really not convincing me that its a good thing either to be so avoidant. theyre happy now but when they have to deal with that trigger in real life it can very easily negatively impact theier lives

The only problem I've discussed in this thread was about the loss of a loved one, which I've long since overcome. You making assumptions about me is uncalled for and I'd appreciate it if you'd stop it. If I want to share something I will.

and nobody expects this shit to happen overnight, sometimes it takes years to finally come to terms with things, but you cant climb a mountain without taking a step. if you hide in the base camp all day youll never reach the peak and youll never be able to become free of those triggers

What this translates to me is "Hey let's forcibly show person [x] until they eventually snap out of it" which just sounds... rude, for a lack of a better term. I think the concept of a trigger warning is completely fine as someone works on trying to become more mentally healthy with whatever triggers them.

 

[They call me Brandon Lee]

Asking to trigger warn something won't lead to that at all. People are still going to consume and create media that caters to darker and potentially triggering themes that people won't be comfortable with.

an in real life example would be the hollywood ratings board, the people who give the ratings to movies. oftentimes people will modify the content of their movies so that they will have a more accessible audience. while movie ratings arent the same thing as a trigger warning, they exist to alert people of the content of the media in question. this also happens in video games and many other rated media. this is why most movies will avoid doing scenes with frontal nudity or saying "fuck". does that not count as a form of censorship for you?

people will try to modify their behaviour in order to not upset audiences but at the same time audiences can manipulate this to cater towards the wants of a specific group of people, look at movie and video game reviews and how they try to promote games of a very specific type.

while these are both loosely tied examples, it can show how a tool that is used to gauge the content of a work can be used to manipulate what goes in the work

No there... really isn't. We've already discussed that TV guide warnings are basically irl versions of a trigger warning.

so why do you need trigger warnings we already have them

Except that I was talking about the concept of a trigger warning in the moment. Obviously people are going to need to adapt and move along past it? You're not giving me a lot credit.

of course they need to adapt and move along past it thats why going around and avoiding the issue completely is fucking retarded, it does nothing to help the person and theyre going to have to learn how to deal with it anyways. im not saying force them to have to deal with it every second im saying that teach them that you have to move on instead of building your life around avoidance

I... literally never said that at all.

right here bud

Not to be a twat but if people on tumblr or w/e actually manage to escape a lot of bad mental health due to their system of trigger warnings then who are you to say they don't work?

it is not good practice to just be avoidant of your problems, they do not go away. you will have to deal with them. just like how the world kept going when you lost your loved one, the world will keep going for everyone else thats triggered. you eventually overcame your triggers by resolving the traumatic incident and dissociating the triggers with the traumatic incident

The only problem I've discussed in this thread was about the loss of a loved one, which I've long since overcome. You making assumptions about me is uncalled for and I'd appreciate it if you'd stop it. If I want to share something I will.

i apologize that my wording wasnt the best, i was not addressing you. autism does that shit.

anyways the world didnt stop for you mourning your loved one and there was physically no way to avoid the fact that you lost them, you had to actually deal with it and go through your life without them. that is how you coped. that is how you took your first steps towards climbing the mountain. nobody will ever be able to bring them back but over time you learn how to adjust with the loss. this is how any traumatic event unfolds, but this can only happen if you accept what has happened

considering that what i stated is literally how you managed to have it overcome dont you think that perhaps accepting the fact that this sort of thing happened is far better than pretending that it never happened at all and avoiding everything associated with it

also, i am under no obligation to treat you any differently than anyone else in this thread. just because you were upset doesn't mean that i'm obligated to change my content for you. oh wait that's how the world works, right right. sometimes being an asshole is the only way for me to get the point across.

What this translates to me is "Hey let's forcibly show person [x] until they eventually snap out of it" which just sounds... rude, for a lack of a better term. I think the concept of a trigger warning is completely fine as someone works on trying to become more mentally healthy with whatever triggers them.

No it doesn't you fucking idiot good lord, also high talk from someone who claims that "i didn't say that at all" lol

first off as i have mentioned like 20 times in this thread we already frequently use search tags, nsfw tags, spoiler tags, epilepsy warnings ect throughout the internet. now there are times where people will neglect to do this but people do need to learn how to adapt to these situations. people don't have to have to constantly expose themselves to their triggers good fucking god but they do need to learn how to adapt to them because the world does not stop for everyone

learn how to not manipulate other peoples words and maybe ill take your pseudo-psychology talk seriously

 

[Star-Lord]

so why do you need trigger warnings we already have them

Think this one through and try again.

of course they need to adapt and move along past it thats why going around and avoiding the issue completely is fucking retarded, it does nothing to help the person and theyre going to have to learn how to deal with it anyways. im not saying force them to have to deal with it every second im saying that teach them that you have to move on instead of building your life around avoidance

My argument mainly is that people will eventually move on - Until that day comes it's just considerate to warn people if there's something that will trigger them.

right here bud

I was asking you a question - I didn't say that being a hikkimori was healthy. You came around and said trigger warnings in that sort of a context don't work at all, and I argued if that claim was accurate considering some people are able to escape bad situations as a result. Never once claimed it was a good thing. Literally never said that at all.

also, i am under no obligation to treat you any differently than anyone else in this thread. just because you were upset doesn't mean that i'm obligated to change my content for you. oh wait that's how the world works, right right. sometimes being an asshole is the only way for me to get the point across.

Yeah amazingly enough the world also works in a way where people like me are allowed to call you out when you're being a dickhead. Moving along.

No it doesn't you fucking idiot good lord, also high talk from someone who claims that "i didn't say that at all" lol

Anyway.

first off as i have mentioned like 20 times in this thread we already frequently use search tags, nsfw tags, spoiler tags, epilepsy warnings ect throughout the internet. now there are times where people will neglect to do this but people do need to learn how to adapt to these situations. people don't have to have to constantly expose themselves to their triggers good fucking god but they do need to learn how to adapt to them because the world does not stop for everyone

It's weird that you're acknowledging the use of the earlier when they functionally do the same thing as a trigger warning, yet trigger warnings are somehow bad.

learn how to not manipulate other peoples words and maybe ill take your pseudo-psychology talk seriously

Pot and kettle.

 

[They call me Brandon Lee]

wow you really show a lot of great debate skills considering you refuse to address a good half of my points. as much of a dick i can be at least i give you the time of day to address your points

My argument mainly is that people will eventually move on - Until that day comes it's just considerate to warn people if there's something that will trigger them.

there's severeal problems with this though

first off, theres no way to know what triggers someone unless they outright tell you, or if they are triggered after theyre exposed to it. how are we supposed to prepare for this kind of thing? we already do acknowledge several well known content triggers in tv warnings but how are we supposed to acknowledge shit like "food" or "birds" or stuff like that? we can't. however most things produced under these things are already labeled anyways to try to promote visability through searches, so you know, you could, idk, just avoid things tagged with "food" or "birds".

secondly, online content doesnt reflect the whole world. your attitude is that we should conceal ourselves from things that make us upset, this by definition is avoidance. being avoidant towards your problems dont help you though because in reality you can never 100% avoid anything, thats how the world works. you have to eventually deal with these things so its better to slowly allow someone to be able to accept their issues as opposed to telling them that they should just run away from their problems

you outright stated that you should just let people avoid their problems. of course now you're saying that you should learn how to adapt to them and people should be nice, so it seems like you can't decide even yourself what is really the best solution here.

Yeah amazingly enough the world also works in a way where people like me are allowed to call you out when you're being a dickhead. Moving along.

that's fine, although your arguments are paper thin. being nice to people doesn't prove your point and frankly i dont even give a shit if your jimmies are rustled. also considering that youre basically playing the coward, refusing to address a good half of my points, shift your goalposts and outright manipulating other people's words to perpetuate your own personal beliefs doesnt exactly make you a real sweetheart either cupcake

this isnt even a legitimate point, youre just mad because ive been extremely blunt with you.

It's weird that you're acknowledging the use of the earlier when they functionally do the same thing as a trigger warning, yet trigger warnings are somehow bad.

i've outlined quite clearly how they can be manipulated here:

an in real life example would be the hollywood ratings board, the people who give the ratings to movies. oftentimes people will modify the content of their movies so that they will have a more accessible audience. while movie ratings arent the same thing as a trigger warning, they exist to alert people of the content of the media in question. this also happens in video games and many other rated media. this is why most movies will avoid doing scenes with frontal nudity or saying "fuck". does that not count as a form of censorship for you?

people will try to modify their behaviour in order to not upset audiences but at the same time audiences can manipulate this to cater towards the wants of a specific group of people, look at movie and video game reviews and how they try to promote games of a very specific type.

while these are both loosely tied examples, it can show how a tool that is used to gauge the content of a work can be used to manipulate what goes in the work

i believe that this is a legitimate point. content warnings by their very nature promote at least some form of censorship - although not all censorship is necessarily bad (lets be honest none of us probably wants us to see creepy fetish porn while looking for cool pics). however, considering that we already have a plethora of ways to actually protect people with legitimate triggers, not only are trigger warnings redundant, they serve little purpose other than to say "i dont like this eeeeew" or "my followers may not like this eeeew"

 

[Sydian]

Name calling is going to have to stop right now. Let's be adults here, please. If you can't talk about this topic without stooping down to the level of insults and name calling, then you need to quit replying.

 

[Star-Lord]

wow you really show a lot of great debate skills considering you refuse to address a good half of my points. as much of a dick i can be at least i give you the time of day to address your points

I've mainly been ignoring it because it's all stuff I agree with. People eventually have to move along past their triggers to progress as human beings, I thought you understood that I agreed with that. Nor did I really need to talk about my bereavement any more than I already did.

first off, theres no way to know what triggers someone unless they outright tell you, or if they are triggered after theyre exposed to it. how are we supposed to prepare for this kind of thing?

You're right - There is no way, but that isn't the point in the end. It's a matter of learning how to talk to people and cater to their needs. You learn what people don't like to talk about and then avoid that, it's basic social skills.

we already do acknowledge several well known content triggers in tv warnings but how are we supposed to acknowledge shit like "food" or "birds" or stuff like that? we can't. however most things produced under these things are already labeled anyways to try to promote visability through searches, so you know, you could, idk, just avoid things tagged with "food" or "birds".

And people do.

secondly, online content doesnt reflect the whole world. your attitude is that we should conceal ourselves from things that make us upset, this by definition is avoidance. being avoidant towards your problems dont help you though because in reality you can never 100% avoid anything, thats how the world works. you have to eventually deal with these things so its better to slowly allow someone to be able to accept their issues as opposed to telling them that they should just run away from their problems

That's not my attitude about it. My attitude in the end is that people will eventually have to grow out of it, but in the meantime we simply need to cater to someone's special needs because that's a considerate thing to do.

i believe that this is a legitimate point. content warnings by their very nature promote at least some form of censorship - although not all censorship is necessarily bad (lets be honest none of us probably wants us to see creepy fetish porn while looking for cool pics)

I think it's fair to discuss then. When I think of censorship I think of the actual legal ability of being able to produce something. In essence, the artist would be censoring their own artistic vision, but trigger warnings don't put any actual legal statutes in place that force artistry not to produce something. Look at controversial video games and movies, they cause controversy, but they aren't completely removed because of an archaic censorship law.

 

[Grey Wind]

asking for trigger warnings is a demand and in many cases is used to express censorship for things that some whiny little shit just doesnt happen to like and it's pretty condescending to be so shitty to someone who actually has genuine triggers for basically stroking your pseudo-social justice e-penis

Trigger warnings have nothing to do with censorship? Like I don't know where you're even pulling that from. And yeah, I acknowledged that people can take things to far but I don't see why you keep dragging it to the extreme. Not everyone who wants a trigger warning is some "whiny little shit" and I don't see why you want the discussion to centre around that.

I don't even know what to say to the last part tbh.

I absolutely am not overreacting, haha. I think you missed the parts where I agreed with you completely, though.

You also missed the part where I said "I know not everyone deals with trauma the same way".

Also, the generation of victims part is completely valid, an example is that we're teaching "don't bully" as opposed to "stand up for yourself". We're teaching "trigger warnings" rather than "face your demons".

Again, so you don't misunderstand, I've said that people deal with everything differently from the other person.

I know that you're saying that people deal with things differently, but I also think that you're making a huge generalization with the generation of victims deal and calling people who request trigger warnings weak. Like, if you can acknowledge that everyone deals with stuff differently then why is it a bad thing if someone doesn't want to confront everything immediately? It doesn't mean never getting over anything, it just means that you're not in a place where you're able to actively confront your your trauma. I agree that it can lead to a sort of sheltered attitude, but again I think that's a little too much of a generalization and I don't think that being considerate to people being uncomfortable with certain topics is something that's inherently bad.