To wish the press would stop forcing horrible headlines down our throats

[Whyohwhyo]

It's absolutely everywhere and breaks my heart. I constantly find myself scrolling quickly past headlines shared by news pages because they are traumatising enough without clicking and reading the articles.

Babies dying horrible deaths at the hands of parents, unspeakable sexual abuse of children and animals, it's just too much to be seeing on a daily basis and unless you don't use social media, read newspapers or watch the television then you can't escape it.

I understand raising awareness, but must they be so graphic? Must they re-post the same story over and over? Must they post photographs of the poor little babies or animals who've been hurt, raped or died? One in particular springs to mind and its the three week old little boy who lost his life at the hands of his parents. His beautiful little face haunts me and I feel sick to know he's suffered so much.

It makes me cry and it stays with me for hours afterwards, only to then be reminded when they run the same story and add a few details.

Does anybody else feel overly emotive about these things to the point of tears or am i being a hormonal pregnant fool and over the top?

Why do they think its in the publics interest to hear about these things in graphic detail? Just prosecute the perpetrators, announce their sentences if needs be and then be done with it.

I wish newspapers would stop cashing in on absolute fucking misery

Totally agree with you. I no longer watch the news or read newspapers. I avoid the magazine section in shops. These stories are other people's tragedies and not news in the real meaning of the word. A friend if mine is obsessed with these misery tales as she feels she needs to empathise with the people involved. How does that do them any good? No idea how to make the media juggernaut stop though.

I get what you mean.

Have stopped reading the feminist magazine as most of the news are just repeats of how things still haven't changed, with men are still horribly violent.
Not that the articles were needlessly graphic, and of course people in general need to know about this, but I just can't deal with it all the time.

Get off the media and avoid the news. If it is important, someone will tell you.

Why do they think its in the publics interest to hear about these things in graphic detail
Probably based on the number of clicks and comments on online articles. If people didn't read stories of that nature, I'm sure they'd feature less prominently.

100% agree
I have cried so many times and I am def not hormonal

It makes me cry and it stays with me for hours afterwards, only to then be reminded when they run the same story and add a few details.
So because it upsets you then the stories shouldn’t be made public? The victims have a right for their stories to be told.
Now if you are taking about the fake concern that people show in regards to these vicious attacks with the old #how disgustion type share then yanbu. People want to be see to care but really they are just looking for likes and attention

It’s why I never go on Facebook anymore. There’s always something on there that traumatises me.

@Cranky17 I'm not at all implying that the victims don't have a right for their stories to be told, hence I said I understood the want to raise awareness. I fail to see how it is beneficial to a deceased three week old baby boy or his extended family to hear about his catastrophic injuries time and time again, with his little face and the faces of the bastards who hurt him being splashed across the Internet multiple times a day. People personally affected by these atrocities have a right to grieve in peace.

If I were a relative of that child or any other I wouldn't find it comforting whatsoever. Some of the news reports about murdered or injured children are grotesque.

@drum123 I agree magazines are just as bad, almost all of the real life ones on the shelves within eyesight of children have front page articles about rape and murder.

I've unfollowed two particular newspaper Facebook pages who post nothing but gross misery but unfortunately you still get the usual folk who share the articles.

I'm guessing the reason they get so many clicks is partly due to morbid curiosity although I may be wrong. I just find it distasteful and upsetting.

[Edited by MNHQ at OP's request]

You're reading the wrong newspapers

I find it too upsetting and my counsellor felt that these stories were triggers for me with my PND and anxiety so I now avoid the news. My family get annoyed with me because I don't really know what's going on in the world but I am much happier!

@Shoxfordian I don't actively read any, it's their social media feeds which get shared and end up on my own newsfeed the majority of the time.

Some well known ones are particularly bad for it

@MrMakersFartyParty I can definitely see why she'd think so, it's horrible isn't it. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss!

Thing is, some people just won't believe that there's a rape culture and something needs to be done about it, if you just present them with dry statistics.

Thinking about it, they don't seem to care much even after presented with graphic details, so perhaps you are right and newspapers should limit themselves to informing people that another horrible crime was committed without describing the injures and all that.

"Men pay to be allowed to rape Orang-Utan" would be enough info for anyone to be disgusted.

Whyohwhyo
No absolute that’s not acceptable but i genuinely can’t say that I have seen these things being shared on my Facebook.
I think that details that are as indepth as you suggest are there to give people a kick, similar to misery porn.
But this isn’t something i see shared On a daily basis.
Maybe block or limit the people who share this stuff.

Well I’m never going to get the image of the orangutan out of my head now. Thanks for that one. As a general rule if you avoid tabloids you don’t really tend to see these things. Might be time for you to take out a subscription for the FT.

How does it end up on your newsfeed? Just unfollow anything upsetting you

I find it repulsive and it only serves to reinforces to me just how vile men are. It's always men too. The abuse, violence and cruelty that goes on day in and day out is unbearable. The detail the press goes into is far too much. It makes it all feel so voyeuristic.

Yeah, thanks for that Hestia. Did you REALLY have to????

I think it depends on the way in which it’s presented. I don’t want to read about really gory crimes, especially those committed against children, but I can see why they need to be reported and covered. In some countries, the newspapers print actual pictures of the dead bodies and I find that really quite traumatic. I remember as a child I was quite often on my own and would read anything I could get my hands on, whatever was lying around the house. I read my mum’s newspaper and landed upon a long article about the murder of Jamie Bulger. I’d never heard of anything so horrific and freaked out so much that I vomited and thought I was going to pass out. By the time my mum got in I was in a complete state and she had no explanation of how it could have happened, as obviously there was no reason for the crime... there was no reassurance to be had. As an adult I do work with people in a role where I come across some very upsetting situations, I’ve read reports and heard things that kind of stay with me, but somehow I can usually compartmentalise and do what needs to be done, without falling apart. Then some cases come along and I just feel like I can’t, it’s hit a nerve and I just can’t cope with even the first shreds of information and I have to pass. I agree that we shouldn’t just be bomabarded with visions of heinous crimes, it should be a choice for people to make if they feel strong enough to take in the information. I read a tiny article once just mentioning a sentence and the crime against a child, it wasn’t a big story at all and most people won’t have heard of it so I won’t mention the detail, but every once in a while the imagery of the crime bursts into my mind and it knocks me sideways. I wish I’d never read it, in amongst reading about currents affairs etc I don’t think it should have been there, seeping into people’s daily lives without invitation.

Pp saying read different papers, they’re quite often the headlines on the front pages and you’ll see when you’re nipping into the petrol station etc, or sometimes idiot people on social media share awful stuff because who knows why, or sometimes someone sitting next to you on the bus or what have you. I don’t read the sun or the mail, but I’ve seen their headlines enough.

I absolutely apologise for mentioning the orangutan story, just realised I've done exactly what I'm moaning about

It was intended to give as an example of the sort of things that come up and why it sickens me.

I was following several mainstream newspapers until I got sick of seeing things about children and animals being hurt so I unfollowed them. I've found that upsetting articles still end up on my newsfeed though as certain people on my friends list take it upon themselves to share them for whatever reason, whether they think they're raising awareness or just want to share the misery inflicted upon them by reading it. The one about the orangutan was mainstream if I remember correctly, I'm positive it was.

I think I'm too sensitive for the Internet if I can't skim past things like this without feeling traumatised, but on the flip side think the tabloids are far too graphic and there's just no need.

A few years ago before I was a hormonal wreck I saw a documentary on YouTube which was something to do with the police investigating child abuse and it was said that that paedophiles who are incarcerated in prison actually get off on reading newspapers because of how graphic they can be when reporting on child abuse.

I avoid triggering programs and news pages where possible now because motherhood has turned me ridiculously soft, but it's almost impossible to completely shut yourself off to it when it's so rife.

I agree OP.

It's click bait though. These things arouse strong emotion.

Maybe it's a cathartic reaction for a lot of people. Feel rage/pity at the awful situation but it helps them exorcise the rage and pity in their own lives that can't be expressed directly.

I worry about desensitisation though. My cousin lost her dad as a teen a few years ago, in a totally normal non-dramatic illness. An ordinary everyday tragedy. Devastated and grieving of course, as is normal. But I caught an attitude, or an undercurrent, that she had no right to express her extreme emotions as the situation wasn't extreme. I might be picking it up wrong, and we're not close enough for me to pry further. I hope my perception is wrong.

The sun and the daily mail are absolute bastards for this kind of thing and these are the main culprits who's crass news end up on my newsfeed.

If they're not yabbering about Katie prices sex life or that Appleton woman, reporting their tedious comings and goings for god knows what reason, they're capitalising on child sex abuse be it historical or recent, vile treatment of animals and other repulsive topics they share intending to shock.

@7Days I worry about desensitisation too.

Child sexual abuse, rape and animal cruelty is reported so frequently in the mainstream now we've basically got used to seeing it and whilst we're obviously disgusted we're no longer surprised.

I don't like the thought of my DC knowing and hearing about these things so readily and there's only so much you can do to shield them.

I totally agree, OP. It is heartbreaking. Like you I have to scroll past and I am also haunted by the photograph of the 3 week old baby.

I've asked @MNHQ to edit my post where I've relayed the description of the orangutan story. Very sorry to anybody who found it upsetting, no offence was intended and I didn't think before using that as a reference to explain my disgusting