A recent study hit the headlines when it found that some social media users could develop the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by viewing violent or disturbing content. Should we be worried?
The headlines were stark: "Online videos can cause post-traumatic stress disorder" one said, while another announced: "Social media users 'traumatised'".
The controversial suggestion was that watching gruesome videos and images online at home could lead to the same types of symptoms most associated with combat veterans.
The stories were triggered by a study released earlier this month by Dr Pam Ramsden, a researcher at the University of Bradford. Ramsden surveyed 189 people about their reactions to a range of events. She found that more than a fifth of respondents scored high on clinical measures of PTSD from seeing pictures on social media - even though they hadn't experienced the traumatic events first-hand.
While the study didn't definitively diagnose any of the respondents, and has not yet undergone peer review, Ramsden says the results were clear. She told BBC Trending: "If a particular person who scored high on the scale [used in the study] came into a GP's office, we could easily diagnose them with PTSD, because they have the same symptoms."
PTSD can develop in some people after exposure to major stress. Most often associated with combat veterans, it became part of the medical lexicon starting in the 1980s, although elements of PTSD have been identified throughout history -even in antiquity.
To be diagnosed with the disorder, symptoms - which include flashbacks, avoidance, sleep disturbances and mood changes - must continue for more than a month after the traumatic event. To the untrained observer the idea of second-hand or "vicarious" PTSD might sound incredible. How could someone who merely watches events on a screen suffer the same problems as, for instance, a combat veteran?
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