TU’s psychologists worried that people will have an obsession over violent news and feel angry and cannot express their anger. It will lead to pressure, frustration and sickness. When people watch visual news, they become more stressed than reading the news. We would like to ask journalists to have media ethic in order to prevent imitation case.
Mr.Athichart Rojanahassadin, Professor of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Laberal Arts, Thammasat University, and the Director of Viva City center, reveals that people who frequently, and continually monitor more and more violent news tend to have acute stress. They will have frustration towards the culprit and sympathy towards the victims. It is similar to watching TV shows and stressful political news which could lead to mental health problems. Mr.Athichart says that when people binge-watch violent news and cannot express their negative emotions, they tend to express through worries, fear, sadness, and stress. It is a natural response related to cortisol stress responses. It will make you feel tired and have an effect on your cardiovascular system and blood pressure. The stress level depends on how much you feel engaged to the news. “For Australia wildfire case, we can help them by money donation so it makes us relieve our stress. On the other hand, other tragic news that we cannot do anything about it will make us frustrated and affect our mental health” sad Mr. Athichart.
The director of Viva City center, Thammasat University, advises that we can take care of our mental health by monitoring yourself on how much you get affected by the news, consciously consuming news, not over watching. We should read the news rather than watching stressful and violent news. “Another worry is imitate behavior. After consuming news, people may get dramatic and feel engaged with the news. Some people who already had robbery motivation might mimic his behavior. Therefore, journalists should not present the news in a precarious way.”
Mr.Athichart Rojanahassadin also says that cyber bully is another kind of violence that can happen to anyone at any age. Cyber bully is different in each stage of life.
- In early childhood, bullying is about their life skills. When children poop their pants, their friends might bully them and make them feel embarrassed.
- In early adolescence, children pay attention to their physical appearances. Bullying is about their appearances such as their skin color and their shapes.
- In late adolescence, students enter university life and they start competing about their academic profile.
- In adulthood, their life is related to politics more. They bully each other about their political viewpoint and values. They bully each other through social media. For example, some politicians are bullied online by teenagers and adults.
Cyber bullying on social media is another form of violence which the bullying topic depends on each stage of life. “The way to protect our children from bullying is parents and school attention on their children. According to 21st Century Skills, we should teach students about how to live with others and encourage them to respect each other. To illustrate, some schools allow autistic students to study with other students. Children will learn and appreciate differences. They will learn to live together and respect people who are different from us” said Mr.Athichart.