Abstract：
Media exposure to graphic images of violence has proliferated in contemporary society, particularly with the advent of social media. Extensive exposure to media coverage immediately after the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombings (BMB) was associated with more early traumatic stress symptoms; in fact, several hours of BMB-related daily media exposure was a stronger correlate of distress than being directly exposed to the bombings themselves. Researchers have replicated these findings across different traumatic events, extending this work to document that exposure to graphic images is independently and significantly associated with stress symptoms and poorer functioning. The media exposure-distress association also appears to be cyclical over time, with increased exposure predicting greater distress and greater distress predicting more media exposure following subsequent tragedies. The war in Israel and Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, provides a current, real-time context to further explore these issues as journalists often share graphic images of death and destruction, making media-based graphic images once again ubiquitous and potentially challenging public well-being. For individuals sharing an identity with the victims or otherwise feeling emotionally connected to the Middle East, it may be difficult to avoid viewing these images. Through a review of research on the association between exposure to graphic images and public health, we discuss differing views on the societal implications of viewing such images and advocate for media literacy campaigns to educate the public to identify mis/disinformation and understand the risks of viewing and sharing graphic images with others.
摘要：
媒体对暴力图像的曝光在当代社会激增，特别是随着社交媒体的出现。9/11袭击和波士顿马拉松爆炸案（BMB）后立即广泛接触媒体报道与更早期的创伤压力症状有关；事实上，与直接暴露于爆炸本身相比，数小时的与BMB相关的每日媒体曝光与痛苦的相关性更强。研究人员在不同的创伤事件中复制了这些发现，将这项工作扩展到记录暴露于图形图像与压力症状和功能较差独立且显着相关。媒体曝光-困境关联似乎也是随着时间的推移而周期性的，暴露增加预示着更大的痛苦，更大的痛苦预示着随后的悲剧发生后更多的媒体暴露。以色列和加沙的战争，它始于2023年10月7日，提供了一种电流，实时背景来进一步探讨这些问题，因为记者经常分享死亡和毁灭的图形图像，使基于媒体的图形图像再次无处不在，并可能挑战公众福祉。对于与受害者分享身份或以其他方式感觉与中东有情感联系的个人，可能很难避免观看这些图像。通过对图形图像暴露与公共卫生之间关系的研究进行回顾，我们讨论了对观看此类图像的社会影响的不同看法，并倡导开展媒体素养运动，以教育公众识别错误/虚假信息，并了解与他人观看和分享图形图像的风险。
