Have you ever wondered how it is your video uploads to the worldwide social media platform Facebook get approved? Once you upload something, you get a notification that you are in the approval process to make sure that the video meets the guidelines and standards for published Facebook content. Shortly thereafter, you are most likely to receive another notification that your content has been approved and your upload is available to view.
Some employee of Facebook has the very distinct job of moderating the content that people try to upload to the social media platform. As imaginable, due to the curious complexity of human existence, there is quite the variety of content that comes through for approval from the more than 2 billion monthly active users. Tragically, some of the content is deeply disturbing, grotesque, graphic, and for employees of Facebook, traumatizing. So traumatizing, in fact, that some moderators have taken to court to sue the international conglomerate.
In late February of 2019, two former Facebook content moderators joined an already filed suit against the company claiming that they are suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder due to the nature of their job. What comes through the Facebook content platform would be difficult for anyone to cope with on a regular basis- Futurism cites murder, suicide, intense hate speech, violence, violence against children and much more.
“The Trauma Floor: The Secret Lives of Facebook moderators in America” blew the lid off the well hidden situation at Facebook headquarters when it was published by The Verge in February. The article goes into the personal stories of a dozen current and former employees, highlighting particularly disturbing experiences for each of them and revealing the unhealthy working conditions moderators are forced to endure. Each story details textbook trauma responses coming from the moderators and a complete lack of trauma understanding, mental health first aid, or any effort coming from other employees to help others cope. Moderators are in groups with each other constantly, discussing the content they view and making the moral decision as to whether or not it is appropriate to publish that content on Facebook in real time.
Symptoms of trauma do not necessarily have to come from a first hand experience. We have found countless times over that trauma can be a response from viewing violent events as a third-party and symptoms can range significantly. People who are chronically exposed to trauma are likely to have a difficult time coping with the trauma they see and life as a whole due to the fact that their idea of the world is dramatically changed, for the worse.
You can walk through your trauma. The Guest House Ocala offers residential treatment programming for trauma, addictions, and related mental health issues. Call us today for information on our customized programs and availability: 1-855-483-7800