Trigger warnings! The horror! The end of civilization!
There are so many things wrong with this New Republic article on the danger of trigger warnings that it's hard to know where to start. For one thing, the twin pillars of their argument seem to be "But where will it all end!?!" and "We can't do everything, so we shouldn't do anything", neither of which are particularly persuasive to me.
For another, they get overly hung up on the word "trigger". Okay, that's easily solved: call it a "content warning". Or "content note". Or something else. There are a myriad of possibilities.
But the thing that really stuck out to me was this sentence: "What began as a way of moderating Internet forums for the vulnerable and mentally ill now threatens to define public discussion both online and off." That makes it sound like warnings are only needed by a small (hysterical, fragile) fringe element. By credible estimates, 1 in 6 adult Americans have experienced sexual abuse or assault. One in 10 struggles with depression. Those are just two of the possible reasons someone might want to know what they're about to read/see/experience, so they can make an informed choice about how and when they want to interact with that content.
For another, they get overly hung up on the word "trigger". Okay, that's easily solved: call it a "content warning". Or "content note". Or something else. There are a myriad of possibilities.
But the thing that really stuck out to me was this sentence: "What began as a way of moderating Internet forums for the vulnerable and mentally ill now threatens to define public discussion both online and off." That makes it sound like warnings are only needed by a small (hysterical, fragile) fringe element. By credible estimates, 1 in 6 adult Americans have experienced sexual abuse or assault. One in 10 struggles with depression. Those are just two of the possible reasons someone might want to know what they're about to read/see/experience, so they can make an informed choice about how and when they want to interact with that content.