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Key points
- A high degree of exposure to disturbing media content can increase the risk of anxiety and PTSD symptoms, even from a distance.
- One does not have to be physically close to a disaster to be impacted by it psychologically.
- Reducing exposure to disturbing media is helpful, but people may also use memes and other creative content as a coping strategy.
Modern fandom takes place largely on social media. Instead of writing fan letters or subscribing to paper "zines" to connect to like-minded others, fans gather in online communities to celebrate the things they love. Platforms like Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Tumblr, and many more provide a virtual place for fans to congregate and discuss their favorite TV shows, films, bands, and celebrities. There are mental health benefits to the feeling of belongingness that results, as fans make connections and find friends. Within these online communities, there is often an encouragement of creativity that is also beneficial, with fans honing their writing, artistic, and creative skills.
However, there are also downsides to social media use. The recent onslaught of disturbing images of war, climate disasters, school shootings, and pandemic losses can make social media a minefield. In between the light-hearted memes about Spiderman and Batman, there is coverage of the latest news and events, many of which are about those natural and man-made disasters.
The Impact of Exposure — Even From a Distance
For young people who are accustomed to spending a great deal of time on their phones, the high degree of exposure can have a significant psychological impact. Someone who experiences any of these stressful life events directly is at risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder, but even those who watch images of these disasters on a screen can be affected. Anxiety and even post-traumatic stress symptoms can result from secondary exposure to disturbing content.
Our understanding of who is at risk for developing these symptoms has changed over the last several decades. In the wake of the September 11 attack, research showed that the idea that someone had to be close to an event to be significantly impacted (the traditional bull’s eye disaster impact model) was not necessarily true. Instead, individuals carry out a relative risk appraisal to evaluate how much threat the event carries, with physical proximity only a part of that calculation.
The other thing that has changed in the past few decades that can impact our risk appraisal is the psychological closeness that our near-constant connection to social media has produced. News is not limited to half-hour segments on evening television; it’s constant, 24 hours a day, on multiple platforms. Networks and news outlets compete for viewers by offering as much and as graphic coverage as possible. When something happens anywhere in the world, images and videos and constant coverage on social media can make it feel like that event is much closer than it seems—geographical proximity is no longer needed for us to feel like something is happening in our own backyard.
Several recent studies have found that greater exposure to media after a disaster such as a hurricane was associated with more symptoms of post-traumatic stress among preadolescents, especially those whose brains were less efficient in regulating emotional arousal. For young people especially, both the greater amount of time spent on social media and the cognitive skills needed to carry out that relative risk appraisal could contribute to an increased risk of anxiety symptoms.
Setting Boundaries for Social Media
Social media platforms have been criticized for not doing more to protect young people from being exposed to disturbing content. A few months ago, popular social media platform TikTok was criticized for a trend of school shooting threat videos making the rounds. The videos didn’t name specific schools, but were concerning enough to lead to some school closures—and invariably impacted young people’s relative risk appraisal.
So how can we all navigate the good and the bad of social media? We can all take breaks, especially when there are so many anxiety-provoking events happening. We can also curate our social media so that not all that we see is news coverage. Fans use social media in a positive way by interacting with other fans or setting aside some time for a brief escape from the stresses of everyday life by consuming fan cams, memes, fan art, or fan fiction. Fans are also resourceful in finding ways to process the disturbing events around them in a way that allows for some hope.
"Memeifying" as a Coping Strategy
For example, while there has been a great deal of disturbing and even graphic social media coverage of the war in Ukraine, people have also used social media to cope. In between news coverage on most platforms, there are viral memes that re-characterize the events in Ukraine in a way that may help to create hope. There are memes of Zelenskyy and Putin re-cast as Marvel or Star Wars characters, for example, comparing the real-life events to the familiar story of the "little guy" standing up to an oppressor. Just as fans use fictional characters in fan fiction to revise their own life stories, these memes are a way of adapting the narrative so it seems less hopeless, thereby reducing stress and anxiety.
A recent article in Vice described the “memeifying” of the Ukrainian situation, pointing out that this practice can help to simplify a complicated and difficult to accept situation into something easier to understand—a process that’s been going on in print media since before social media existed. Memes may be a way of reducing stress and the sense of helplessness that comes from watching violence play out. On the other hand, there’s a risk of oversimplifying what is actually happening, and a need to keep in mind that these are real people in real-life dangerous situations, not superheroes with super powers. There are also numerous TikToks and fan cams that portray Zelenskyy and Putin and others, sometimes with humor. While some have been critical of the tone of such postings that reference real-life tragedy, these may also be a way of coping with the overwhelming emotions brought about by the reality of this war.
Some of the memes do not so much revise reality as highlight certain parts of it. For example, the bravery of individual Ukrainians—a man carrying a land mine across the road in his bare hands or a group of civilians trying to convince approaching tanks to turn around, which people turned into memes depicting them as superheroes in real life. Sharing those inspiring memes can be a way of feeling like there is hope, reducing the feelings of helplessness that increase anxiety. While we need to never lose sight of the reality and the gravity of these situations, at a time when the world feels out of control in multiple ways, that can be a good thing.
References
Dick, A.S., Silva, K., Gonzalez, R. et al. (2021). Neural vulnerability and hurricane-related media are associated with post-traumatic stress in youth. Nat Hum Behav 5, 1578–1589 .
Marshall, R. D., Bryant, R. A., Amsel, L., Suh, E. J., Cook, J. M., & Neria, Y. (2007). The psychology of ongoing threat: Relative risk appraisal, the September 11 attacks, and terrorism-related fears. American Psychologist, 62(4), 304–316.
