Understanding the Perceptions of Trigger Warning and Content Warning on Social Media Platforms in the U.S

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Zhang, Xinyi, Gupta, Muskan, Altland, Emily, Lee, Sang Won
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Zhang, Xinyi
Gupta, Muskan
Altland, Emily
Lee, Sang Won
author_facet Zhang, Xinyi
Gupta, Muskan
Altland, Emily
Lee, Sang Won
contents The prevalence of distressing content on social media raises concerns about users' mental well-being, prompting the use of trigger warnings (TW) and content warnings (CW). However, inconsistent implementation of TW/CW across platforms and the lack of standardized practices confuse users regarding these warnings. To better understand how users experienced and utilized these warnings, we conducted a semi-structured interview study with 15 general social media users. Our findings reveal challenges across three key stakeholders: viewers, who need to decide whether to engage with warning-labeled content; posters, who struggle with whether and how to apply TW/CW to the content; and platforms, whose design features shape the visibility and usability of warnings. While users generally expressed positive attitudes toward warnings, their understanding of TW/CW usage was limited. Based on these insights, we proposed a conceptual framework of the TW/CW mechanisms from multiple stakeholders' perspectives. Lastly, we further reflected on our findings and discussed the opportunities for social media platforms to enhance users' TW/CW experiences, fostering a more trauma-informed social media environment.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_15429
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Understanding the Perceptions of Trigger Warning and Content Warning on Social Media Platforms in the U.S
Zhang, Xinyi
Gupta, Muskan
Altland, Emily
Lee, Sang Won
Human-Computer Interaction
Computers and Society
The prevalence of distressing content on social media raises concerns about users' mental well-being, prompting the use of trigger warnings (TW) and content warnings (CW). However, inconsistent implementation of TW/CW across platforms and the lack of standardized practices confuse users regarding these warnings. To better understand how users experienced and utilized these warnings, we conducted a semi-structured interview study with 15 general social media users. Our findings reveal challenges across three key stakeholders: viewers, who need to decide whether to engage with warning-labeled content; posters, who struggle with whether and how to apply TW/CW to the content; and platforms, whose design features shape the visibility and usability of warnings. While users generally expressed positive attitudes toward warnings, their understanding of TW/CW usage was limited. Based on these insights, we proposed a conceptual framework of the TW/CW mechanisms from multiple stakeholders' perspectives. Lastly, we further reflected on our findings and discussed the opportunities for social media platforms to enhance users' TW/CW experiences, fostering a more trauma-informed social media environment.
title Understanding the Perceptions of Trigger Warning and Content Warning on Social Media Platforms in the U.S
topic Human-Computer Interaction
Computers and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.15429