Exercise caution when watching coverage of the 9/11 anniversary, says Gary Sparks, mass media effects expert at Purdue University. “Relieving this event can resurrect the initial trauma that we all experienced when we watched the first news reports,” he said, and reliving such moments may be more “emotionally upsetting” that people think it will be.
Sparks, who studies how frightening images affect health, says, “Of course there is the temptation to watch these images again. Some of these images—people jumping from buildings or the towers collapsing—are so deeply ingrained in our minds that many people might not anticipate their capacity to elicit intense emotions all over again. When you begin to feel a sense of emotional fatigue from seeing these familiar images, take that as a signal that there isn’t much to be gained by watching these events yet again.”
The reaction of children to anniversary coverage should be especially monitored, Sparks says, and some parents may want to keep sensitive children from watching any of the coverage at all. He’s concerned, for instance, that young children may even think there is yet another attack taking place.
Parents who want older children to watch some of the coverage should be prepared to discuss feelings the events generate. Sparks says a helpful strategy is to emphasize the heroes of the events, and to recount how effective the emergency responders were.
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