Trigger Warnings- Good or Bad?

Boca00

Sat, Jan 06 2018, 9:47 pm

Are trigger warnings beneficial, harmful or other?

Oh, and if they are good- which topics should they be used for?

Leave your comments below...

Last edited by Boca00 on Sat, Jan 06 2018, 9:57 pm; edited 1 time in total

ra_mom

Sat, Jan 06 2018, 9:51 pm

I agree with OutATowner. "Child Mentioned" in the IF forum is good. Random generic "Trigger Warning" not so much.

OutATowner wrote:

I think it has a place when someone may feel safe and not expect it. For example, in the IF forum, when someone writes "child mentioned." But in an open forum, I think people need to understand that things will be mentioned, and if you don't like it, close the tab or thread.

yogabird

Sat, Jan 06 2018, 10:48 pm

I don't see how it could be bad.

The people who don't want to be "snowflaked" can disregard and open it, and the people who know they get upset are duly warned. Who loses out??

amother

Honeydew

Sun, Jan 07 2018, 8:53 am

Somehow I get annoyed (triggered, yet on a much subtler level) from TW on every random thread. I agree that in specific threads, it is necessary (IF), but it's not about the "snowflakes", rather, I believe that it's about my need for things to be status quo.

Just like having the recent topics jump to the op, tw is a change, that may be enough to take me off of the forum for now, or at least not open that thread. Not because of the content, but because of the tw itself. It just brings up annoyance. I guess that is something I can explore when I feel introspective.

If you want to do tw, do it! Do what is good for you. I don't like it. That may say something about me. Yet, I still don't like it. It takes away from my enjoyment of browsing this forum.

What's more important? My annoyance, or someone else who may be triggered? I don't know. It's a hard call. That's why I think that thread titles should be as good a summary of the content as possible, and leave it at that.

That's my personal experience.

amother

Chartreuse

Sun, Jan 07 2018, 11:24 am

Seems to me because of the way trigger warnings have gotten out of hand, people get triggered just from hearing the phrase and freak out about snowflakes. But really, there is a certain basic mentschlichkeit that says there are instances when you should warn people what's coming so they can make a decision to scroll by rather than have something deeply distressing or gross foisted on them. I don't see anyone complaining when someone posts "Digestive issues (TMI)", we all understand that it's the polite thing to do because not everyone wants to read about it. I think there are a few instances where it's really just the right thing to do and it's not snowflakey at all to ask for fair warning- depictions of graphic violence, discussions of rape, abuse, miscarriage/still birth, and child loss. That said, a well written thread title should do the trick, you don't even have to say the words trigger warning.

LittleDucky

Sun, Jan 07 2018, 6:41 pm

I feel there is a major difference between a TMI or “graphic” warning as they are things everyone wants to know and it’s basic decency. A “child mentioned” on an IF thread is the same way- that thread is supposed to be child free except when warned against. It’s a haven for people who experience IF in a world that does focus a lot on kids.
But random trigger warnings? I think they contribute to the lack of tolerance in society of another’s ideas or beliefs, even if totally (subjectively) “wrong”. We lose the ability to read about sad events, things that upset us, we disagree with etc. it’s a muscle and if we don’t use it, it shrivels.

they also lose all meaning when they are used so frequently.

sarahmalka

Sun, Jan 07 2018, 9:42 pm

Trigger warnings are very helpful when it's related to incest or rape. That is not about being a wimp. It's about stopping flashbacks. It's ok to be sensitive to others. Rolling Eyes