World Trauma Day
How social media can affect trauma recovery
World Trauma Day is an opportunity to recognise the impact trauma can have on a person’s life and the importance of support and understanding throughout their recovery. For survivors of sexual violence, trauma can affect how they feel, think and respond long after the experience itself.
How can social media affect trauma recovery?
Social media can be a place to connect with others, find information and feel less alone. For survivors of sexual violence, however, what we see online can sometimes bring up difficult feelings, memories or emotions.
Posts about sexual violence, graphic content, victim-blaming or other people’s experiences can feel overwhelming. Even when you are not actively looking for this content, it can appear unexpectedly while scrolling. A video, comment, image or personal story may remind you of something you have experienced or make you feel as though you are reliving parts of your trauma.
Social media can also create pressure to compare your healing journey with someone else’s. Seeing other survivors talk openly about their experiences or recovery can be comforting for some people, while for others it may bring up feelings of sadness, anger, guilt or the sense that they are not healing “quickly enough.”
It is important to remember that there is no right way or timeline for recovering from trauma. You are allowed to take control of what you see online. You can mute or unfollow accounts, use content warnings where available, limit your time on social media or step away completely when you need to. You can also choose when and how you engage with conversations about sexual violence. Protecting your wellbeing is not avoiding your healing, sometimes, it is part of it.
If something you see online brings up difficult feelings, remember that you don’t have to navigate them alone.
If you can’t speak to anyone, speak to us:
English:021 447 9762
isiXhosa:021 361 9085
Afrikaans:021 633 9229
WhatsApp (weekdays):083 222 5164
Written by
Jameelah Ebrahim
