Trigger warnings could encourage people to keep watching offensive content

Trigger warnings flagging potentially distressing content may encourage people to view the post, a study has revealed.

Researchers in Australia found that young people come across trigger warnings on social media several times a week. These warnings can be text, a blurred image or a video warning that the posts contain offensive content.

Almost 90 per cent of young people who saw a trigger warning still chose to view the content out of curiosity, whatever the sources of the warnings and irrespective of whether they suffered from trauma.

One person even told researchers: “Sometimes my brain wants to be triggered, so it grabs my attention more.”

The study, published in the Journal of Behaviour Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, tracked 261 participants aged 17 to 25 over a seven-day period who were asked to keep a daily diary noting when they encountered trigger warnings and whether they chose to approach or avoid the content.

“Trigger warnings seem to foster a ‘forbidden fruit’ effect for many people whereby when something is off-limits, it often becomes more tempting,” said lead author and lecturer in psychology, Dr Victoria Bridgland at Flinders University in Adelaide.

“This may be because negative or disturbing information tends to stand out and feel more valuable or unique compared to everyday information.

“And since trigger warnings are often short and vague, sometimes as simple as just ‘TW’, they leave a gap in knowledge about what’s coming.

“That gap can spark curiosity and make people want to look, just to find out what they’re missing.”

Having trauma history or PTSD symptoms did not make participants any less likely to avoid the content flagged with a trigger warning.

“If most individuals are approaching the content anyway, and vulnerable groups aren’t avoiding it more than others, then we need to reconsider how and why we use these warnings,” Dr Bridgland added.

Although trigger warnings are there to signal care and consideration, the evidence suggests they do little to prevent exposure to distressing material. Instead, they may simply pique curiosity, leading users to engage with content they might otherwise have ignored.

Dr Bridgland said further research is needed to explore alternative approaches to supporting mental health online.

“We need to move beyond assumptions and look at what actually works,” she said. “Trigger warnings might not be overtly harmful, but they also might not be helping in the way we think they are.

“For example, many people who saw clips of the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk were left haunted by the images despite seeing warnings beforehand. It’s time to explore more effective interventions that genuinely support people’s wellbeing.”

Dr Bridgland concluded that social media platforms should consider using “inbuilt tools” for when people encounter graphic content.