( Trigger warning sensitive topics are mentioned in the piece)
Have you noticed an increase in political advertisements since the past election? Have you noticed that these advertisements have been seeming to get more and more violent? Have you ever thought about how this affects the daily life of everyday people? Well there may be more effects than you think, Such as heightening anxiety levels, causing people to not vote, and triggering people with PTSD. There are various future implications, people who are affected by this, how it affects these people, and events that could be caused or effected because of these advertisements.
You may not realize it but political media is everywhere as a father of three had mentioned “ over the last election cycle they were on every hour of every day, every other facebook ad, every advertisement” Unfortunately these advertisements are getting out of hand with discussing sensitive topics and even exposing it to children.
Effects on People
Nowadays people are wondering why people don’t really go outside as often. This may have something to do with these advertisements. It is found that Increased exposure to political TV advertisements heightens anxiety because of the topics discussed such as gun violence, abuse of power, and more. Although some may say we just need to toughen up more this is not always the case as seen with people who have PTSD.
PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is caused by any situation that a person finds traumatising. As stated in the article Overview- Post-traumatic stress disorder by the National Health Service (NHS) this is “estimated to affect about 1 in every 3 people who have a traumatic experience”. That is about 8 million adults alone. Let’s say for example a child experiences a traumatic event, how would this affect them later on in life? According to the NHS “it is often more severe if the trauma was experienced early in life, as this can affect a child’s development.” Okay but how does this correlate to political media? Well certain topics discussed in the advertisements can be found triggering to some people with ptsd.
How? It’s not like they’re living that event over again? Actually, according to the NHS “… the flashbacks many people with PTSD experience may force you to think about the event in detail so you’re better prepared if it happens again” this can be triggered through certain words, phrases, places, or even thoughts.
Okay, But how does that work? “Studies have shown that people with PTSD have abnormal levels of stress hormones. Normally, when in danger, the body produces stress hormones like adrenaline to trigger a reaction in the body. This reaction, often known as the fight or flight reaction, helps to deaden the senses and dull pain. People with PTSD have been found to continue to produce high amounts of fight or flight hormones even when there’s no danger. It’s thought this may be responsible for the numbed emotions and hyperarousal experienced by some people with PTSD.”
You may be wondering how this all connects, well think about mudslinging. Mudslinging is when candidates choose negative aspects of their opponents during campaigns in which they use during political advertisements even if some of these things are not fully factual and most likely have a variety of false accusations and information. Some of these negative aspects include sensitive topics such as gun violence, sexual assault, and rape. Instead of combating Hate with something more lifting these advertisements are just piling on more and more hate. Shouldn’t these advertisements focus on better aspects that are not so triggering to the audience?
What can these advertisements cause?
Political advertisements are supposed to make you choose between two or more candidates in an election, however since both sides are constantly mudslinging each other their advertisements may cause people not to vote at all. This could cause major issues later on when the elections roll around. Not to mention it being exposed to children because of how often these advertisements are on the media and the television.
Children who watch live TV with their parents, grandparents or even siblings are likely to have seen these advertisements. As a Father of 3 stated “The sensitive materials in these ads should not be exposed to children. It’s wrong, they’re so demeaning and degrading they talk about very horrible things”. This is not something they should have to hear especially at a young age. This could pose them to ask questions that they do not need that answer to yet because it could very well lead them to start developing complex PTSD, because of the sensitive material discussed in these political advertisements. No the advertisements themselves may not cause this however if they have experienced something like this before it could cause them to begin having signs of PTSD or Complex PTSD. According to the NHS “Complex PTSD can cause similar symptoms to PTSD and may not develop until years after the event”. So even if they are not showing signs now it may be developing later on in life.
Some of these advertisements may come off violent. Unfortunately although it is not as noticeable, it may cause riots, and a degree of violence in the real world. Yes peaceful protests are okay, however because of how violent these advertisements have been getting these peaceful protests are beginning to turn into riots, and other violent acts.
People it effects
As Already mentioned children are negatively affected by these advertisements, but so are parents, candidates for the elections, and anyone who watches live television.
We already know how children may be affected but what about the adults in your life? Well, to start, some adults have been getting increasingly annoyed with these advertisements. Not only because of how often they are played, or the sensitive topics talked about, but they are noticing that both main political parties (Democrat and Republican) are saying the exact same thing as one another. This can cause debate on whether or not what these advertisements are saying is true or not.
It has also been increasingly difficult to find accurate information that is available to the public. These advertisements normally do not tell the full truth so it is recommended that people fact check these ads before believing them right away. Unfortunately people believe these advertisements and then begin telling more and more people without proper research.
We have to remember that the candidates for these elections are people too. How would you feel if someone inaccurately accused you of doing something on live television. Most of these people have lives outside of their government lives. Some have families, who now have to listen to the ads every single day knowing that it is inaccurate but they are unable to do anything about it. Some have children, who may now see their parents from a whole new perspective. Their own family may turn against them in a second because of these advertisements, their children may become scared of their guardians. How would you feel if you were in this situation? While knowing you have no control over it. These are people’s lives we are talking about here.
What can we do about this?
Unfortunately there is currently no solution but some people do have some Ideas. A father of three stated that there should be a “Rating system for sensitive material” such as in movies where there is Rated M for mature audiences and PG-13 for 13 years old and up. He also had the idea of having “Flags and warnings to allow users to choose if they want to view this topic” Which would be highly beneficial especially if someone has anxiety or PTSD with certain topics.
Another possible solution is to choose positive aspects over negative aspects. However this could cause other issues. Unfortunately the world is driven by hate, hate gets views, and therefore influences the mass majority of people. This is also why we only hear negative things in these advertisements, it gets views, and that’s what people are looking for. But why?
According to Very Well Mind; Negative Bias: Why We’re Hardwired for Negativity “Our tendency to pay more attention to bad things and overlook good things is likely a result of evolution. Earlier in human history, paying attention to bad, dangerous, and negative threats in the world was literally a matter of life and death. Those who were more attuned to danger and who paid more attention to the bad things around them were more likely to survive.”
A solution to this according to Very Well Mind is “When you find yourself interpreting something in a negative way, or only focusing on the bad aspect of the situation, look for ways to reframe the events in a more positive light.”
Concluding thoughts
Political media is everywhere, unfortunately it has become increasingly more and more prominent in our everyday lives. It has negatively affected people, and has generally brought down the mood of every single person who has seen these advertisements. With the sensitive topics at hand such as sexual assault, rape, and gun violence being talked about during these advertisements, something needs to be done not only to protect our youth, but also to ensure the safety of others. Be careful not to fall for inaccurate information, for it could affect those around you.
What will you do to protect your community against these political advertisements?
