[2] This increase can lead to people easily viewing negative images and stories about traumatic events that they would not have been exposed to otherwise.
One thing to consider is how the dissemination of this information may be impacting the mental health of people who identify with the victims of the violence they hear and see through the media.
[10] While major news outlets often regulate what they post, they still show the aftermath of traumatic events on their websites and in their newspapers.
Examples include pictures of the twin towers after 9/11, the Boston bombing, the Rodney King video, and footage of the L.A. riots.
[12][13] As discussed in the section above, emotional contagion can happen through different forms of indirect contact with media.
[3] Goodwin et al. (2013) found that the participants in their study showed greater stress reactions when they took in information about the trauma from social when compared to those who used more traditional forms of media.
[15] Researchers have shown that social media is a major risk factor for a person to develop trauma symptoms,[15][16] or even be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.