Desensitization
If you live in today’s modern world, you have experienced desensitization. Most likely, you had no idea it was happening. At this point in people’s lives, it is part of their past - a thing that happened in their childhood and continues to happen daily. It grew monumentally with the growth of technology. It started hitting stages of adolescence when the Millennial generation was young. What’s the main form of desensitizing today? Social media.
Now I know this is a trigger for many people. You don’t want to hear a rant against technology. There’s no way you’re closing your account. Stop trying to get you to quit the socials. Well, rest assured, that’s not what I’m about today. It’s likely I will never delete my own social media accounts, so I’m right there with you. But dangerous things are happening to our brains through what we see, and it’s important to understand it, even on a basic level.
Desensitization is a psychological process by which a response is repeatedly elicited in situations where the action tendency that arises out of the emotion proves to be irrelevant. Most commonly, this is seen in the viewing of violence.
Layman’s terms? We’re subjected to something repeatedly in a way that diminishes our emotional response. We become “used to” that thing until we have less and less of a reaction.
Think about what you see on your social media as you scroll.
Funny cat video.
A friend’s birthday photos.
A friend posting that they lost their job.
Cute puppy video.
Weekend snapshots from friends.
Bombing in another country.
Book recommendation from a friend.
Makeup tutorial.
Hurricane devastation.
Cake decorating reel.
Buzzfeed article on Disney Princesses.
Post about a friend’s mom passing away.
Lasagna recipe.
Do you get the picture? Your brain receives endorphins when you get a like, comment, etc. That’s a ‘feel good’ chemical sent to your brain when someone interacts with you on social media. So getting on to your social media account is a desire to feel those endorphins. Then we scroll, we look through these happy, wonderful, and joyous posts, and our brain cannot process the emotions quickly enough when devastating news is dropped in the middle. Did you even stop to realize that the friend who lost their job has had their world turned upside down? We perhaps give a little heart emoji. On generous days, we may comment with our sympathies. But do we really care anymore? Or is that cute puppy video just too distracting, too happy to focus on how we could support our friend.
Desensitization has already happened to us. We are already desensitized to many things. This is part of our past, but it doesn’t mean your mind is broken or enticing. One of the best ways to work against desensitization is to practice empathy. Try new things outside of your usual experiences. Hear stories from people who are different from you. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Practicing empathy helps you understand and connect with people - both strangers and your friends and family.
Challenges/Points:
We have all experienced desensitization in our lives.
In our world today, desensitization is constantly in our faces, scrolling past our eyes.
Do you think this is right or wrong? What can you do to change this?
Questions:
Have you noticed the lack of emotional response regarding devastating news that you may scroll past?
Does it bother you to think you’ve been desensitized to what’s happening in our world, or your own neighborhood?
What is one step you could take today to practice a little empathy?
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