Can PTSD Be Caused By Social Media?

Watching gruesome videos online could lead to PTSD symptoms, says a study.

18:47 26 May 2015

PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is very common among soldiers but a recent study suggests that people who watch gruesome videos or images online can feel the same symptoms. 

 

Dr Pam Ramden, a researcher from the University of Bradford, conducted a study that was participated by 189 people. The study assessed their reactions to a range of events. Based on the results, more than a fifth of respondent scored high on clinical measures of PTSD from seeing pictures on social media, despite the fact that they did not experience the traumatic events first-hand. 

 

Walter Busuttil of veterans' mental health charity Combat Stress reacted to the results saying: "There is a level of resilience that may be very high in some people and very low in others, and social media may actually affect particularly vulnerable people. I always tell my patients it's not a competition. We don't say that anyone's got anything more severe than anyone else."

 

"This study is not saying that people develop PTSD," he noted. "This study is saying that we can detect some symptoms that are measurable that are similar to PTSD."