To be sick of

[FreewomaninParis]

People on Insta posting pictures of dead children/ babies in Gaza. It’s like their need to tell others they’re on the righteous side of the ‘war’ (who most likely agree with them anyway in their bubble) trumps my need to not repeatedly see dead children. It’s disgusting.

And yes. It’s disgusting it’s happening but that is not what this post is about.

@proximalhumerous

It might be a bit upsetting, it might make you think, it might even prompt you to make a donation, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

I don't think it works like that though.

If anything it makes you think: "I'm being emotionally blackmailed/bullied by someone who is shoving a deeply upsetting image at me when I least expect it to suit their agenda. I'm therefore less likely to engage with this because I question the motives, taste and agenda of the person posting it." Or certainly that's the impact it has on me anyway.

I'm deeply distressed by what's happening in Gaza. I am no more likely to "take action" because someone has invaded my social feed with an upsetting image of an ill, injured or distressed child than I would be with a piece of carefully thought out, measured rhetoric.

Most (intelligent) people realise that a) the situation in Gaza is highly upsetting and prone to propaganda and b) that social media is very polarising and is designed to amplify the sorts of things which already fit with your worldview anyway. So this isn't going to have the "shock you out of your complacency" effect that I think some people imagine it will.

I'm not making a judgement about moral equivalence here by the way or saying "both sides are as bad as each other". I don't believe that. But I don't think digital shock tactic manipulation is convincing anyone who isn't already convinced.

Yes, that's probably fair to say.

I do think there's a bit of an attitude currently of people feeling they deserve to be protected from anything that might be offensive or upsetting, and expecting trigger warnings on everything. Unpleasant things happen in the world and we're already reasonably sheltered from these things in the UK, but we don't have a right to expect never to hear about them.

But that's just my opinion and I appreciate that perhaps Instagram isn't the most appropriate medium for this sort of information/material.

I unfollowed a sewing based account for doing this!

@proximalhumerous

I do think there's a bit of an attitude currently of people feeling they deserve to be protected from anything that might be offensive or upsetting, and expecting trigger warnings on everything. Unpleasant things happen in the world and we're already reasonably sheltered from these things in the UK, but we don't have a right to expect never to hear about them.

I agree with this: like these people who refuse to listen to/read/watch news because it "upsets them" and they'd rather live in a bubble of ignorance. Which I think is a bit pathetic in a grown adult. You can't expect to have any autonomous role in a society if you refuse to educate yourself about how it works.

But traditional news with at least some theoretical commitment to balance and reporting facts is a very different beast from deliberate propaganda, particularly if its designed to trigger an emotional response without any context and deliberately funnelled to people who are already known to be on one side of the fence.

Agreed. I also have a kind of visceral defiant reaction to the posts. Like fuck your emotional manipulation.

I think it's very sensible to have a shut that shit down policy when it comes to emotional manipulation.

Dead kids?
I'm so glad I never had, neither will I have any social media or the desire to scroll.
It's poison, deception and shit altogether.

People can live how they want to live.

I don’t follow the Gaza stuff. What’s even the point. I just live my own life to my own values and raise my kids and go to work.

@ItDoesntHaveToBeASnowman

People can live how they want to live.
I don’t follow the Gaza stuff. What’s even the point. I just live my own life to my own values and raise my kids and go to work.

People can do what they want but if you expect to have any influence over the world you live in or participate in the way people in government make decisions on your behalf, you can't remain in a state of deliberate ignorance in the way the world works. Do you vote? What's the point if voting if you don't pay any attention to what's happening in the world?

How do you form these "values" you have if you pay no attention to what's happening around you?

Being able to "live your life to your own values and raise your kids and go to work" is a massive privilege. A lot of people don't have that privilege.

Live in ignorance if it suits you but at least acknowledge that by doing so you sacrifice the right to opinions or autonomy about how you are governed. Not many of us can do much at a practical level to alleviate the situation in Gaza but if you celebrate your own ignorance of this situation why should other people be prepared to help you if, God forbid, you found yourself in a similar situation?

Some of us need to find a balance here. Personally I don't find obsessing over world ills that I can't change does my mental health any good. There are people in my day to day life that need me and that I can actually help so I'd rather try to be mentally healthy for them.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to set limits of how much bad news you consume or where you want to consume it.

Gaza isn’t happening around me though. I can do absolutely nothing about it. I also offer no opinion on any of it and I wouldn’t pretend to know anything about it. I know about local issues and I care about the things I can change. I don’t “celebrate my ignorance” about anything, I’m literally just living my life.

I get that it's not nice to see but it has been THE biggest way to raise awareness of the genocide that is STILL happening. It is so important to share but I agree the gruesome images should be blurred out of respect for the victims as well as to avoid traumatising people.

I agree it’s uncomfortable, and I certainly don’t like seeing it as it triggers a very emotional feeling now I have my own DCs.

however,

Nothing is stopping what’s going on. Media isn’t reporting on it thoroughly, press isn’t allowed in there. The message needs to be amplified somehow.

Woe is me seeing horrible upsetting pictures online. Fancy them inconveniencing you like this with their posts when you’d rather look away or have a newsfeed filled with rainbows and fluffy cakes. Get with the programme love and just be grateful this is what you’re whinging about.

I feel the same...

Stop following those people/hide posts/change preferences/don’t go on insta

I think I'd be looking into my feed and who I was following if I were getting repeated images that I found distressing.

This is exactly the type of sanctimonious virtue signalling shit I’m talking about. Thanks for a good example

Nothing sanctimonious about it, it’s called a reality check, you sound ridiculous. Also you can alter your algorithm so all you can see your rainbows and lollipops. Just learn how to do it.

No they don't have the right to "get in your phone" but they do have a right to post what they like as long as it's not breaking the law. You have the right to remove the app which is bringing those images to your phone. Take some responsibility and chose between your desire to access IG and your desire to be protected from the realities of genocide. If you are choosing IG then content you might not like is the price you pay.

Oh ffs, my desire to be protected from the realities of genocide? Same as my desire to be protected from the realities of child abuse (don’t want to see that) or murders (nor those). Plus you’re really not helping the cause you’re just annoying people.