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Social media and live streaming can be excellent tools for quick dissemination of news, marketing, and entertainment - but there is more. Such platforms also provide an outlet for exhibitionism and this can lead to disastrous consequences when people with ill-intent avail of themselves of these resources.
For example, in the case of a live shooting, such as the recent horror in Virginia, not only is the gunman directly impacting the lives of his victims and their families, but also everyone who is watching.
People, in most cases, turn to their television and social media pages for comfort and interest - not for terror. When such violent acts are witnessed in real-time it can have traumatic effects on a much larger community. And this takes on a national and even global scale.
The important thing to remember in times after a mass-shooting, or similar horror, is that such events are thankfully rare. It is vitally important to help children who saw live coverage (or replays) understand that they live in a safe world. This is also an opportunity for users of social media to spread a message of support and hope to their communities in an effort to transform feelings of alarm into comfort.
The impact of repeated news coverage is overwhelming, especially when it comes to our most vulnerable citizens - children. To make horrific events, like mass-shootings, less disturbing to the public at large, it is also important that the media refrain from sensationalizing the shooter. Reporting on facts only and avoiding tantalizing stories and graphic video-footage that accompany the killings can accomplish this.
Another best practice for media coverage is to focus on the victims and not the killer. Also, it's possible that sharing positive news of communities supporting each other will help to dismay other potential killers or ‘copycats.’
Our emotions are registered in the amygdala - a part of our brain’s limbic system. Each individual will respond to horror in a different way (for instance, some people register fear, others worry, and for some, intrigue). From what we know about neuroscience, the prefrontal cortex, controls our focus, strategizing, self-control and inhibition.
Studies done looking at people's brains after exposure to violent video-games have shown that there is a greater activation of the amygdala and significant decrease in the activation of prefrontal cortex.
This suggests that the media should refrain from showing, and people should avoid watching violent coverage of real-life trauma.
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Watch the TEDx Video "Creating Hope for Mental Health" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z451JTU2fok
