Latest / Mini Scroll / The Internet & Traumaporn: The "Ethical" Consumption of Tragedy in The Digital Age

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The Internet & Traumaporn: The "Ethical" Consumption of Tragedy in The Digital Age · Mini Scroll

0:00
In September 2022, Netflix released Monster, the Jeffrey
0:04
Dahmer story. The series told the story of one
0:06
of America's most notorious serial killers who predominantly
0:09
preyed on young gay men of color.
0:12
Monster was the ultimate trauma porn content and was rife with
0:16
controversy from the start, with the victims families saying the
0:19
series re traumatize them. But something arguably just as
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sinister emerge from the Series, A lust for Dahmer across social
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media that went so viral it quickly became a trend.
0:31
This trend saw users brag about how unbothered they were by the
0:35
Dahmer series, featuring the show's theme song as the sound
0:38
played on their videos. Users displayed empathy for the
0:41
serial killer, made fan edits and thirst traps of him, and one
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creator who even donned earrings with Dahmer's face on them, went
0:49
so far as to lament that the show wasn't morbid enough for
0:52
her. While content that depicts
0:54
traumatic stories and events is nothing new, social media's
0:58
reception to Monster marked a tangible shift in how audiences
1:02
consume tragedy in the digital age.
1:05
This leaves us with the question, how has the modern era
1:08
of online culture influenced the sharing of trauma porn?
1:11
And possibly more importantly, are we as the consumers
1:15
accountable for the ethical implications of this content
1:19
too? From Centennial World, I'm
1:21
Lauren Meisner and this is Infinite Scroll, a podcast about
1:25
Internet culture, the creator economy, and how social media is
1:28
shaping Gen. Z.
1:30
Welcome back to Infinite Scroll everyone.
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some getting used to this month. All right, so as you guys
4:13
probably realized from the intro and you know the title of this
4:16
episode, today we are going to be exploring TikTok and trauma
4:19
porn, how the consumption of tragedy manifests in the digital
4:23
age. So trigger warning for this
4:25
episode, it will contain discussions about police
4:27
violence, murder, abuse, and other topics that listeners may
4:31
consider traumatic. So please click out now if you
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are just not in that headspace. As politics, the news, and pop
4:37
culture become increasingly intertwined, it's nearly
4:40
impossible to avoid content online.
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Staying up to date on global events is extremely important,
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but these days, as we all doom scroll through our feeds, it
4:49
feels like social media is filled with disaster, hatred,
4:52
and war. While the 24 hour news cycle and
4:54
rise of citizen journalism allow us to gain insight into
4:57
perspectives and parts of the world that we wouldn't
5:00
otherwise, it simultaneously exposes us to a host of
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traumatic content. This in turn, leaves social
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media inundated with a flood of graphic images and videos,
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ultimately contributing to the widespread adoption option of
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trauma porn style content. Trauma porn isn't limited to the
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digital realm. In fact, it has long been used
5:20
in journalistic endeavors and various literary pursuits.
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As noted by Dylan Matthews for Vox Quote, communications
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scholars have found that across many years in countries,
5:30
coverage of political topics tends to more often be conveyed
5:33
in a negative or cynical tone rather than a +1.
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While bad news is what might keep viewers captivated, it is a
5:41
slippery slope from a negative bias to trauma porn.
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From our research, there doesn't seem to be 1 unified definition
5:49
of trauma porn. Rather, it's become customary
5:51
for many writers and cultural pundits to acknowledge the
5:54
slippery nature of the term. However, two main
5:57
interpretations seem to prevail. The first is more generic.
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Take Urban Dictionaries definition for example.
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Their trauma porn is described as a literary phenomenon when
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quote a writer glorifies trauma in their writing, exaggerating
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aspects for the sake of angst. In this context, the aim is to
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evoke pathos in the audience. It's not necessarily about
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diving into the effects of trauma, but showcasing trauma
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merely to drive the plot. This approach is common among
6:24
true crime podcasters and creators who often detail
6:27
horrific cases, commodifying trauma and tragedy in the
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process. While many strive to treat these
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stories with the gravity they deserve, they're often edited
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with suspenseful music, a strong narrative voice, and presented
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by familiar creators with whom audiences have a parasocial
6:41
relationship relationship with This often results in the
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fictionalization of the very real trauma behind these
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stories, as we saw in 2022 with the romanticization of serial
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killers Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy.
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The second interpretation of trauma porn focuses on the way
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it evokes emotion for entertainment and who it is
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specifically for. Brittany Johnson, writing for
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The Mighty, a healthcare platform that allows people to
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share their stories in a safe environment, describes trauma
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porn as, quote, media that showcases a group's pain and
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trauma in excessive amounts for the sake of entertainment.
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As Johnson rightly points out, this often disproportionately
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impacts minorities and marginalized groups.
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In these instances, their trauma is put on display, often for the
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benefit of non marginalized groups, making them, quote, feel
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better about themselves in relation to these issues.
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More on that later. Of course, it is worth noting
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that not all stories or content involving traumatic incidents
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are inherently trauma porn. This distinction here lies in
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three key factors. First, trauma comma porn is
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inherently capitalistic, seeking to commodify these stories for
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monetary gain. It's driven by profit rather
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than a genuine intent to inform or educate.
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Second, it is exploitative, often showcasing trauma for
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shock value rather than warning audiences or presenting the
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content respectfully. And lastly, trauma porn is more
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often than not unproductive. It doesn't offer any solutions
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or constructive dialogue about the situation but instead leaves
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the audience entertained or feeling good because being upset
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that or enraged by the content validates for audience members
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that they're compassionate in some twisted way.
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In contrast, media and content that address trauma and tragedy
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with sensitivity and care, providing trigger warnings and
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resources, fostering introspection, and encouraging
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meaningful conversation should not fall under the category of
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trauma porn. These respectful approaches aim
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to inform and engage audiences in a more productive manner.
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Now, there are closely related concepts to trauma porn, such as
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tragedy porn and poverty porn. Tragedy porn typically refers to
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a literary technique where a tragic or sad story is told, but
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offers little discussion or resources around the issue.
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Poverty porn, on the other hand, is more specific.
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As Kat Higgins, a lecturer in media and culture at the
8:59
University of London, tells Vox, this type of content sees,
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quote, poverty as something that is shocking, disgusting, or
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funny, as opposed to a structural problem demanding
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structural responses. Conversations on social media
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around trauma porn often overlap with examples of tragedy porn
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and poverty porn, so it is worth giving them a mention to get the
9:19
full picture. For the purpose of this episode,
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I'll be referring to trauma porn as a term that encompasses both
9:24
poverty and tragedy porn as well.
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With that being said, trauma porn has become a controversial
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topic in the digital space. Discussions about this type of
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content have been around for years, but they gained
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significant traction around 2020, particularly during the
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Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George
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Floyd. Through this period, much of the
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conversation around trauma porn started within Black communities
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on social media. With this, we will primarily
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draw on commentary from Black voices for this part of the
9:52
podcast to ensure that we are platforming these perspectives
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since this period and content affected the Black community
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most significantly. In a 2020 piece published by
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journalist and activist Ashley Marie Preston for Marie Claire,
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she recounts how the George Floyd video impacted her quote.
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After seeing the footage, I was overcome by inconsolable
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frustrations. Not only was I angry, I've been
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caught off guard. The video played automatically
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when I scrolled past it, she writes.
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I was also upset that thousands of white Americans whose
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unwillingness to help dismantle systemic racism made George
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Floyd vulnerable to police brutality were now given front
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row seats to voyeuristically consume his pain.
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Preston's reaction highlights some of the major issues that
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many marginalized groups have with trauma porn.
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They are often forced to relive their trauma and
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intergenerational pain for the benefit benefit of the majority,
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specifically white, straight, cisgender, and neurotypical
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people. This is something Brittany
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Johnson points out in her piece for the Mighty Writing Quote.
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When trauma porn is created surrounding the experience, to
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put it lightly, of what it means to be marginalized, it is never
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made with the marginalized group in mind.
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Thus, the art can further trigger said marginalized group.
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The impact of trauma porn was significant during this era on
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social media. Preston and her piece goes on to
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note the similarities between spreading traumatic videos of
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police brutality and racially motivated lynchings throughout
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the early 1900s. Quote Today society takes part
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in a modern day form of lynching, sharing trauma porn.
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She says the method may have changed, but the motivation is
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still the same. The extreme discomfort you feel
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when reading about last century's lynchings is similar
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to the discomfort many Black people feel when viral videos of
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us being publicly murdered are shared all over the Internet.
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Other commentators have drawn similar conclusions.
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In a blog post for Media, PhD candidate Joy Brooks Gilzane
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discussed how the rapid spread of trauma porn across the viral
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space is deeply desensitizing, where this level of exposure
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might lead users to become, quote, numb to violence against
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black bodies. Similarly, Indigo Ross for the
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Odyssey Online notes that this hyper consumption is almost a
12:01
fetish for the United States, one that is extremely damaging
12:05
for audiences. And lastly, Dr. Elfie Breland
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Noble, psychologist and founder of the AAKOMA Project,
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emphasized in a 2020 interview how many of these visuals
12:16
continue to dehumanize Black people.
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Quote, if this was your loved one, would you want other people
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consuming that? She questioned, referring to the
12:24
video of police brutality circulating at the time.
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Doctor Brillan Noble also noted that consuming this content can
12:30
lead to quote secondary and vicarious trauma for many people
12:34
of color who are already acutely aware of the fear and pain that
12:37
comes with being a Black person in America, especially as racism
12:40
continues to run rampant. However, for some, this is
12:44
precisely why this content should be shared.
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Many social media users argue that spreading these graphic
12:50
images and videos raises awareness and shows the lived
12:53
experience of so many. While raising awareness and
12:56
fostering allyship are important, much of the
12:58
commentary from Black perspective suggests that this
13:01
is not the most effective approach, as Australian scholars
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Kathomi Gatwiri and Virginia Map Petzama write.
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Quote Black trauma porn creates white hyper consumption and does
13:12
so without any transformative power Preston makes a similar
13:16
point in her piece for Marie Claire, noting that quote
13:18
Sharing images of Black Death on social media won't save black
13:22
lives instead of eradicating our murders, it normalizes them year
13:26
after year, life after life. Innocent black blood is spilled,
13:29
and yet the system responsible is left intact.
13:33
Of course, discussions around trauma porn extend beyond the
13:36
Black Lives Matter movement, though it remains one of the
13:38
most covered periods in social media activism.
13:41
Similar, the discourse has emerged around other distressing
13:44
events like wars and true crime. Nevertheless, the questions
13:48
remain largely consistent. How can social media users
13:51
balance sharing real life content and unfortunately,
13:54
graphic content to raise awareness and reveal the
13:57
realities of oppression and conflict, while also protecting
14:01
the marginalized groups directly affected by these situations?
14:05
To effectively address these concerns, let's reflect on why
14:08
we continue to engage with trauma porn in the first place.
14:12
Of the existing commentary suggests that we choose to watch
14:15
and share trauma porn online for rather selfish reasons.
14:18
During the height of the Black Lives Matter protest, for
14:20
instance, many people, especially white people, might
14:23
have used this traumatic content to perform allyship.
14:26
Because of this element of performance, online activism is
14:29
sometimes referred to as slacktivism, an effort freeway
14:33
for someone to perform activism or allyship without actually
14:36
having to take their efforts offline.
14:39
Quote Clicking the share button on an Instagram infographic
14:42
requires significantly less effort than having difficult
14:45
conversations with close friends and family, Brooks Gilzane
14:48
continues in her Medium piece. I am by no means suggesting that
14:52
sharing information is futile or counterproductive.
14:54
I'm instead suggesting that we show greater consideration to
14:57
our peers before sharing. While the criticisms around
15:00
slacktivism are mixed, with some studies suggesting that online
15:04
activism does not inherently harm or hinder offline activism,
15:08
Dr. Sarah Lucy for the University of Kentucky found
15:11
that more often than not, individuals who engage in online
15:15
activism treat it as a trend. And all of us who spend a lot of
15:18
time online can see that right? When something really major
15:21
happens in the news or in culture, our feeds are flooded
15:25
with trending infographics shared by celebrities,
15:28
influencers, and tons of regular degular people that we know.
15:31
These shares are meant to communicate to the wider
15:34
audience that they care. This performance also comes with
15:38
conditions. Not only does sharing this
15:40
infographic mean that they care, but it's become a widely
15:43
accepted that if you don't share that infographic, then you don't
15:47
care and you couldn't possibly be doing anything offline to
15:50
help because you're not posting anything online.
15:53
And so we can see how engaging in online activism becomes a
15:57
trend. It can be something that people
15:58
perform online to prove to others that they are good
16:02
people. Now, that's a really simplified
16:04
explanation. It doesn't apply to everyone, of
16:06
course. And I know in many cases,
16:08
sharing and spreading information online is vital to A
16:11
cause. But there are clear links to the
16:13
sharing of traumatic content online and the sharer's
16:16
motivation of wanting to stand on a higher moral ground than
16:19
others by sharing this content under the guise of allyship,
16:23
whether they actually realize that or not.
16:25
Though sharing traumatic content might benefit someone's public
16:28
image during a movement or crisis, consuming this type of
16:31
content can be more intrinsically motivated.
16:35
Watching content that showcases things like violence, poverty,
16:38
murder, addiction, and mental health challenges.
16:41
Feeds are negativity bias. Negativity bias is a term that
16:45
describes humans tendency to be drawn to bad news.
16:48
This can be partly explained by our inherent need to protect
16:51
ourselves from threats, and partly due to our own morbid
16:54
fascination with how bad the world can really be.
16:57
A 2014 experiment by researchers Mark Trussler and Stuart Sikora
17:02
at the University of McGill in Canada found that we pay
17:05
attention to bad news more than good news because it's human
17:08
nature to believe that our lives are better than most others.
17:12
Quote When it comes to our own lives, most of us believe we're
17:15
better than average and that, like the cliches, we expect
17:18
things to be all right in the end, writes Tom Stafford for the
17:22
BBC in reporting on this research.
17:24
Quote. This pleasant view of the world
17:26
makes bad news all the more surprising and salient.
17:29
It is only against a light background that the dark spots
17:32
are highlighted. So our attraction to bad news
17:35
might be more complex than just journalistic cynicism or a
17:38
hunger springing from the darkness within.
17:41
This belief that we're better than average is called illusory
17:44
superiority, and there are few theories as to why we perceive
17:48
ourselves like this when compared to others.
17:50
But egocentricism, which is the idea that we place greater
17:54
emphasis on our abilities, characteristics and decisions
17:56
and behaviors than others, is a primary one.
17:59
Basically, we believe we have advantages that others don't
18:02
have. In this context, watching trauma
18:05
porn feeds that egocentricism, making us feel better about our
18:08
own lives and our own decisions, while confirming that inherent
18:11
belief that we are better than average.
18:14
If you asked the average social media user, however, why they
18:17
engage with this type of content, they likely wouldn't
18:20
say that it's because it feeds their ego.
18:22
Instead, we see a lot of discussion online about how this
18:25
type of content helps users trauma bond with others who have
18:29
experienced similar situations. The term trauma bond was first
18:33
coined in 1997 by Patrick J Carnes, the founder of the
18:37
International Institute for Trauma and Addiction
18:39
Professionals. The term describes the bond
18:42
formed between an abuser and a non abuser, which creates A
18:45
dysfunctional attachment style where the victim of abuse may
18:48
display quote a highly addictive attachment to the person who
18:52
hurt them. Now, as with many clinical
18:54
terms, social media users frequently misuse it and the
18:57
meaning has been diluted. Quote.
18:59
Unfortunately, the trend of overusing or misusing terms such
19:03
as trauma bonding dilutes the meaning and significance of
19:06
serious mental health concerns, clinical psychologist Dr. Carla
19:10
Manley told salon.com. For example, when people on
19:13
TikTok casually state that they are trauma bonded with their
19:16
coworkers due to employment issues, they are unknowingly
19:19
using a term that is intended to describe a relationship where a
19:22
victim is bonded to a perpetrator who is engaged in
19:25
repeated cyclical abuse. In the context of engaging with
19:28
trauma porn online, we can look to 2010's Tumblr as an early
19:32
marker of this term being Co opted, where posts and blogs
19:36
that glorified self harm, mental illness, and pro eating disorder
19:39
behaviors were some some of the most popular content on the
19:42
platform. Users defended that this content
19:45
provided a sense of connection and community among people
19:48
dealing with these issues through shared trauma bonding,
19:51
but in reality, the content was extremely dangerous and usually
19:55
quite self-serving. With many of us naturally drawn
19:58
to trauma porn for various reasons, it benefits creators to
20:01
capitalize on this kind of content.
20:03
While exploiting trauma and tragedy for monetary gain and
20:06
clout is definitely a bit dystopian, content creators
20:10
will. Can do whatever they can to
20:12
maintain influence in today's attention driven economy.
20:15
For those unfamiliar with this concept, the term attention
20:18
economy was coined by US political scientist Herbert A
20:22
Simon back in the 1960s. Essentially, he characterized
20:26
the scarcity of attention as an economic problem.
20:28
Although this idea might seem distant from today's digital
20:31
world, it has come to define how many marketers, social media
20:35
experts and journalists view how the Internet and its operatives,
20:38
corporations and creators alike for our focus quote.
20:42
This economy, which sees our focus as a finite resource to be
20:46
captured and monetized, has fundamentally altered how we
20:49
connect, Kurt Steinhorst writes for Forbes.
20:52
It poses significant challenges that threaten to undermine the
20:55
quality of our attention, our relationships, and our
20:57
understanding of the world. Of course, TikTok is only
21:00
intensified the attention economy.
21:03
Not only did TikTok bring short form content back to the
21:05
zeitgeist, but the infinite scroll interface on the For You
21:08
page makes content more accessible than ever.
21:11
As a result, capturing and holding attention has become
21:15
even more challenging within this context.
21:17
If trauma is what draws an audience in, many creators are
21:21
willing to exploit it. We've seen numerous individuals
21:24
leverage trauma to grow their followings or maintain their
21:27
influence. These creators generally fall
21:29
into two categories, those who exploit their own trauma and
21:33
those who use the trauma of others for personal gain.
21:36
While both approaches generate confronting content, the latter
21:39
is especially concerning. These creators often position
21:42
themselves as saviors while profiting from other suffering.
21:46
1 contentious example of this is Soft White Underbelly.
21:50
Soft White Underbelly is a YouTube channel that was
21:53
established on April 25th, 2016 by photographer Mark Leda.
21:57
The channel has become renowned for sharing interviews and
22:00
portraits of societies overlooked and underprivileged.
22:03
The channel features conversations with a diverse
22:06
range of people, including homeless people and drug
22:08
addicts. The earliest video on Soft white
22:11
underbelly was posted on May 11, 2016.
22:14
Since then, a few fan favorite interviewees have emerged,
22:17
notably Amanda, a homeless woman, sex worker, and drug
22:21
addict. Mark's first interview with
22:23
Amanda was posted on December 2019, where he continued
22:26
documenting her journey through rehab, recovery, and her
22:29
untimely death in May 2021. Meanwhile, another fan favorite
22:34
is The Whitaker's, an Appalachian family with an
22:36
alleged history of inbreeding, which has led to various genetic
22:40
defects among some family members.
22:42
The most popular video on the Soft White Underbelly channel is
22:45
a visit to The Whitaker's home in Odd, WV, which has
22:49
accumulated over 42 million views.
22:52
Most recently, Soft White Underbelly went viral for an
22:55
interview with Cosmo Lombino, a wardrobe stylist in Los Angeles
22:59
who has LED a very eventful life.
23:01
While the interview was posted in March, clips began
23:03
circulating on XA couple of months later, with the most
23:06
popular one featuring Cosmo discussing her ties to the mob
23:10
and her family struggle with addiction.
23:12
While Mark's intention with the channel may seem noble, his
23:14
supporters claim he humanizes people shunned by society.
23:18
He creates Gofundmes for interviewees, and he offers
23:21
money to homeless individuals on Skid Row for interviews.
23:24
His approach raises some ethical concerns.
23:27
Many critics argue that Soft White Underbelly is another
23:30
example of trauma porn and poverty porn.
23:33
They question whether many of his subjects can actively give
23:36
consent, especially since many are suffering from drug
23:39
addiction. And maybe under the influence
23:41
during the interview sessions or when Mark coordinates the
23:44
meetings. Given that Mark doesn't have a
23:46
background as a psychologist or a social worker, many viewers
23:49
have questioned the methods he uses to source participants and
23:52
his general approach to interviews.
23:54
Quote. I used to find these YouTube
23:55
videos interesting but the absolute lack of empathy from
23:58
the viewers is sickening. Mark Leyda is not qualified for
24:01
this and it seems he has a savior complex. 1X user rights.
24:06
On top of this, there have been concerns about whether the money
24:09
from various GoFundMe campaigns actually reaches the intended
24:12
recipients. Earlier this year, for instance,
24:15
allegations emerged that funds raised for the Whitaker's were
24:18
not making it to the family. This came to light when YouTube
24:21
Tyler Olivera visited West Virginia.
24:24
Before arriving, he reached out to Mark asking for an
24:27
introduction to the Whitaker family.
24:29
A member of the Soft White Underbelly team revealed that
24:31
The Whitaker's had a contract to film exclusively with Mark for
24:35
content creation and were quote in talks about a television
24:38
series with a broadcast network. Tyler then contacted Paige,
24:42
another woman who remains in touch with the Whitaker's, who
24:45
encouraged him to bring groceries to the family.
24:47
While visiting the Whitaker's, Tyler asked about updates on the
24:50
House, which was the goal of Mark's GoFundMe campaign for the
24:53
family. Betty, the matriarch, said she
24:55
hadn't heard about anything, raising questions about where
24:59
the money was going quote. Oliveira tells The Whitaker's he
25:02
bets there's 50,000 or 60,000 in the fundraising account, but
25:06
doesn't quite explain why he believes that to be true.
25:09
His video doesn't out Wright accused Leyda of fraud, but
25:12
pretty aggressively raises questions about what Leyda does
25:15
with the GoFundMe donations he collects for the family, writes
25:18
Vox. Mark responded with a video of
25:21
his own, stating that the channel and the GoFundMe have
25:23
quote generated a lot of money for the Whitakers.
25:26
However, he noted that some family members frequently call
25:29
him for money. He provided screenshots showing
25:32
that he has wired money to Betty and explained that the number of
25:35
requests over time is why a new home hasn't been purchased yet.
25:39
He also insinuated that Tyler made his video for a quote,
25:42
juicy story, questioning why Tyler didn't reach out to him
25:45
directly for clarification. While questions remain about
25:48
Mark's approach and the Soft White Underbelly YouTube
25:51
channel, many social media users continue to defend him, praising
25:54
his compassion and appreciating how his content challenges
25:58
assumptions about the realities of homelessness and drug
26:01
addiction. Aside from Soft White
26:03
Underbelly, there are other creators who have faced trauma
26:06
porn allegations, with one of the most prominent creators
26:09
being, of course, Mr. Beast and Beast Philanthropy.
26:13
We spoke at length about Mr. Beast and the criticisms of his
26:17
philanthropic content in our deep dive into him from February
26:20
of this year. So if you're interested in the
26:22
full picture, definitely go back to that episode and check it
26:25
out. But Mr. Beast, the world's
26:27
biggest YouTube, has faced increased criticism for his do
26:30
Gooder content. The basis of Mr. Beast's fame
26:33
and fortune is his philanthropic content where he gives away
26:36
thousands if not millions of dollars to people in his videos.
26:40
In addition to giving away money, Mr. Beast creates savior
26:43
content where he will provide medical treatments or build
26:46
shelter or infrastructure for marginalized people or low
26:49
income people. And while yes, the money that
26:52
Jimmy has given away and the work that Beast Philanthropy has
26:55
done has no doubt changed lives, let's zoom out for a minute and
26:58
consider the problems with philanthropy as an industry.
27:02
Private philanthropy has increased dramatically in the
27:04
past 20 years, with nearly 3/4 of the world's philanthropic
27:08
foundations being established during that time.
27:11
British journalist Paul Valley reports that between all of
27:14
them, these foundations control more than 1.5 trillion USD.
27:19
One of the main issues with private philanthropy is that
27:21
it's always a quote expression of power.
27:24
It's a super rich individual picking and choosing the causes
27:27
that matter to them as opposed to say, paying their fair share
27:31
of taxes. It lets the Super rich live out
27:33
their God complex. They believe the answer to the
27:36
world's problem is private philanthropy because they
27:39
believe that they know where the money should go, that they know
27:42
better than the governments or local members of that society.
27:45
This can sometimes contradict or undermine the priorities of a
27:48
community. We see this God complex
27:50
mentality through Mr. Beast's content.
27:53
He rarely addresses the wider systemic issues at play in his
27:56
videos, and he absolutely always centers himself in these videos.
28:01
His videos are about him giving back, not about the issues he's
28:04
covering in his videos, and his audience plays into this.
28:08
There are several videos on the Mr. Beast's channel that take us
28:10
through people's living conditions, showing us their
28:13
car, painting a picture of vulnerability, poverty, and
28:16
desperation. And then, to make us feel better
28:19
about people living in these conditions, Mr. Beast swoops in
28:23
to save them by handing them a wad of cash or paying for their
28:26
healthcare or something. Rebecca McFarlane for Centennial
28:29
World explores the consequences of this content, noting that
28:32
quote. All too often the forces driving
28:35
creators are sensationalization, notoriety, and profits.
28:39
Rather than raising awareness or foster empathy for the pain of
28:42
others, this over commodification of tragedy tends
28:45
to have the opposite effect on audiences.
28:47
Desensitization, TikTok trends, video essays, and commentary are
28:51
all examples of how this desensitization manifests in the
28:55
digital era. The criticism against creators
28:57
like Mark Leda and Mr. Beast are valid despite the good that they
29:01
may be doing. They have arguably built multi
29:03
$1,000,000 businesses by exploiting other people's pain
29:07
and suffering and in turn helping desensitize millions of
29:10
people around the world to real life tragedy.
29:13
And while that seems to be an approach to trauma porn that
29:15
most people would agree is questionable, creators who go
29:18
viral by sharing their own traumatic stories, like Risa
29:21
Tisa, who went viral in February of this year for her series on
29:24
marrying A pathological liar, face fewer questions about the
29:28
ethical implications of them creating this type of content,
29:31
given it's their own story to tell.
29:33
So where does this leave us? Should we avoid engaging with or
29:36
consuming trauma porn altogether?
29:38
Or is this content already to ingrained in media and online
29:42
culture to avoid? From my perspective, I do think
29:45
that audiences have an element of accountability when it comes
29:48
to what we consume and why we consume it.
29:51
If Monster, for example, had not been such a success with
29:54
audiences, then maybe Netflix and the showrunners would have
29:57
been held to a different ethical standard when the victim's
30:00
family spoke out about their lack of support for the series.
30:03
However, as we explored, humans penchant for bad news is nothing
30:07
new and it's unlikely that people will stop creating,
30:10
consuming and engaging with traumatic content despite the
30:13
questionable ethics and motivations around it.
30:15
Staying critical of who is creating this content and why
30:19
they're creating it is probably the bare minimum we can do to
30:22
support the people who were actually involved in these real
30:26
life tragedies before we turned them into trauma porn.
30:30
Infinite Scroll is a podcast produced, presented and Co
30:33
written by me, Lauren Meisner for Centennial World.
30:36
This episode was researched and Co written by Annabelle, Ben,
30:39
David and edited by Danny. Thank you so much for listening.
30:42
I love you guys and I will talk to you next week.
30:45
Bye.