Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
With war and unrest currently rampant in various parts of the world, GulfWeekly’s columnist Preety Praveen explores the topic ‘The mental health impact of witnessing violence and global conflict on social media’, focusing on responsibly using online platforms, making them a productive, empathetic space to be in.
Violence of any kind can make anyone uncomfortable. Every problem has a solution but violent solutions can never solve a problem. It might only lead to dangerous repercussions and more complications.
In today’s digital world, where everyone is exposed to a range of news and information, both good and bad, it becomes difficult to filter content. People have become judgmental, edgy and opinionated in their own way. What is good for one might not be good for someone else. But who cares, everyone wants others to believe in their perceptions, intentions and interests.
This is fine until contents shared in the digital world are positive and entertaining. But violence - be it domestic, global or social - can be mentally agonising.
Getting to know something wrong happening in one’s hometown, not being able to go back and take care of their loved ones, or find a sensible solution makes one feel helpless and trapped. And in such situations, people tend to vent out their emotions on social media platforms, without realising that their thoughts might be acceptable for a few, but unacceptable for many.
The emotional outbursts on virtual platforms mounts up the trauma and creates another war, far from the root place or cause.
The agony of losing someone, the throb of being with someone you care about, the throttle of choosing and deciding what to do or what not, leaves one in a stressful, anxious, and worrisome situation.
Everyone has the right to share their thoughts and views, but when such things are done without proper knowledge or just for the sake of doing it, they create more damage.
Not only adults but even children get affected by such actions.
A war between two countries, a new bill passed by a government, a social campaign, an unfortunate incident, or a natural calamity - these are of concern to everyone, but not all of them have solutions for it.
We should be responsible enough to understand where to draw a line between a personal viewpoint and an open social message. What’s right for me might be wrong for someone.
Observing violence on virtual platforms might not affect a person physically, but it definitely leaves a disturbed haunting mind, which has no clue how to solve the problem.
We cannot escape from the digital world, but we can definitely create an atmosphere where our concerns pave a way, show a path, bring enlightenment and spread hope and positivity.
The world can only find true peace when individuals strive to be peaceful within themselves.
(Preety Praveen is a psychologist and author.)
