Trigger Warnings

Research

Trigger Warnings Don't Work

• People who are randomly assigned to receive a trigger warning before viewing or reading something potentially upsetting do not then experience less anxiety; in fact, in a few studies they fared worse, compared to those who received no warning. For a summary of these studies please visit https://www.thefire.org/catching-up-with-coddling-part-two-trigger-warnings-screen-time-v-social-media-covid-19-and-the-continuing-decline-of-gen-zs-mental-health/.

• Two Carleton College professors surveyed the available studies and came to the same conclusion in The Chronicle of Higher Education. See Amna Khalid and Jeffrey Aaron Snyder, “The Data Is In — Trigger Warnings Don’t Work,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, Sept. 15, 2021, at

http://chronicle.com/article/the-data-is-in-trigger-warnings-dont-work.