Can people develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder following exposure to traumatic media? [content warning – trauma]
In this episode Don, Fai, Marcus and Sachin discuss a Kotaku report of a Mortal Kombat 11 developer who said they were diagnosed with PTSD after working on the game. We discuss the traumatic effects media might have, and also talk about Facebook content moderators who have also reported mental health issues after having to look at disturbing content.
We read from the following sources:
A developer of Mortal Kombat 11 discusses being diagnosed with PTSD: https://kotaku.com/id-have-these-extremely-graphic-dreams-what-its-like-t-1834611691
Facebook content moderators discuss the disturbing content they deal with: https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/18229714/cognizant-facebook-content-moderator-interviews-trauma-working-conditions-arizona
And we look at the Textbook of Disaster Psychiatry, specifically the chapter “The Unintended Consequences of Disaster-Related Media Coverage” by Pauline Lubens, and E. Alison Holman. The studies we mention are covered in this chapter.
Gaming the Mind 