Introduction
Terrorist attacks and their live coverage impact the psychology of people in a serious manner. It is extremely horrific to watch terrorist attacks on television but reading them in newspapers also makes parallel effects on the psyche of people. A lot has been discussed on this issue, and there is a difference of opinion among different sections of the society. Some people say that media is just doing its job while others say that portrayal of terrorist attacks should be regulated, and media should avoid portraying ghastly things. It has been observed in a number of cases that portrayal of such ghastly incidents impacts people especially teenagers and children. This paper intends to discuss how portrayal of terrorist attacks impacts psyche of people along with discussing how banning portrayal of terrorist attacks tampers with the freedom of speech and expression.
Discussion
Terrorist activities and attacks are commonly shown on the media and the same is viewed by the people from all age groups including children. Media portrays the damages due to terrorist attacks on the society. Dead bodies of women & children, blood, damage to the households, and fear among the people are common elements of coverage of terrorist attacks. Broadcast of terrorist attacks has a psychological impact on the society. People feel a sudden increase in anxiety level and stress after watching blood and death in terrorist attacks. However, these psychological may not lost longer, but they impact psychology of the viewer. Restriction on the broadcast of terrorist attacks is highly debated issue in the society.
Scordato & Monopoli (2002) in their article describe how things were changed in America post 9/11 attacks. The attack killed people, destroyed their homes, and damaged economy of the nation. Broadcast of that attack, and how 9/11 attack impacted lives of people was painful. Restriction on broadcast of terrorist activities will certainly eliminate the pain, and stress associate with watching those incidences. However, such restrictions will not let people know the reality of the incident. Banning broadcast of terrorist activities is a violation of freedom of speech. It is right of all citizens to speech what they feel is right (Scordato & Monopoli, 2002).
Pfefferbaum et al. (2003) in their study analyzed the impact of broadcast of terrorist activities on children. The study informs how Broadcast of Oklahoma bombing in year 1995 on different channels and also in print media impacted mental health of the children. Under the study, a survey was conducted post two years of the incidence on 88 children. Majority of the children covered under the study mentioned about exposure towards bomb related media coverage. Children mentioned about posttraumatic stress after watching broadcast of the incident. Children’s psychology gets significantly impacted by watching terrorist attacks and sufferings of the people. Therefore, it is important to monitor children access to such contents, and reduce their exposure to such programs or news (Pfefferbaum et al., 2003).
Various research studies were conducted to analyze the impact of watching terrorist attacks on media, on the human mind and especially on children’s mind. Some common symptoms observed among the young viewers are anxiety, stress disorder, depression, sleep difficulties, posttraumatic disorder, and some behavioral problems. Reactions of all children to the violent content are not same, some children are at higher risk of getting psychologically impacted by watching terrorist attacks on television (Fremont, 2004).
Ban or restriction on broadcast of terrorist activities is not the answer to all questions. It is not legal to control the freedom of speech or expression of individuals. However, broadcasting companies should filter the contents that might disturb the emotions of individuals. Companies should understand their responsibility towards mental health of the viewers. Filtering of scenes that content killing of people and blood will benefit the people because in this way people will be able to gain all information about the incidents without disturbing their stress level.
Conclusion
Having observed an overview and succinct analysis of the abovementioned subject, this paper concludes that the portrayal of terrorist attacks impacts the psyche of people in a negative manner. Both adults and children are severely affected by the portrayal of terrorist attacks though children suffer the most. There should be some regulation and monitoring on portrayal of extreme violent incidents in television as well as in newspaper and magazines. Some may say that regulating portrayal of terrorist activities is a violation of freedom of speech but considering the negative impacts of such portrayal, such regulation is necessary.
References
Fremont, W. (2004). Childhood Reactions to Terrorism-Induced Trauma: A Review of the Past 10 Years. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 43(4), 381-392.
Pfefferbaum, B., Seale, T.W., Brandt, E.N., Pfefferbaum, R.L., Doughty, D.E., and Rainwater, S.M. (2003). Media Exposure in Children One Hundred Miles from a Terrorist Bombing. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 15(1), 1-8.
Scordato, M., & Monopoli, P.A. (2002). Free Speech Rationales after September 11th: The First Amendment in Post-World Trade Center America. Stan. Law & Policy Review, 185.
