There is nothing more popular among bloggers, nothing that guarantees as many likes, shares, and reads as deeming millennials the "generation crybaby" and listing in the most convoluted way possible why this is true. Entitled, narcissistic, and hell bent on being politically correct, this is a generation that has created itself in direct opposition to the notorious "other," the other being those who are perceived as conservative, close-minded, "pull-yourself-up-by-your-boot-straps" generation. If this self-deprecation is something bloggers would like to pursue, there is plenty of material to pick apart. From "selfie culture" to social justice warriors, millennials are criticized for being borderline obsessed with themselves as well as political correctness. In line with this, social justice comes trigger warnings. Trigger warnings are most commonly used in web content to warn readers of any triggers such as violence, self-harming behavior, eating disorder behavior, war—and most commonly, abuse, especially kinds of sexual abuse such as assault or rape.
At their inception, trigger warnings were mainly seen on "feminist sites" where these potentially triggering topics needed to be discussed without the fear of causing panic to a recent victim. While trigger warnings may have begun in a feminist space online, they have expanded into "real life," bleeding into the academic world. One debate going on now is whether college professors should be expected to use trigger warnings on their syllabuses. The hope is that by giving students a quick warning, they can prepare themselves to discuss the topics and control their reactions.
Trigger warnings are often dismayed by those who have nothing to be triggered by (and even by some who have been able to move past their traumatic experiences). And yes, for those who believe that trigger warnings exist to stop others from feeling slightly uncomfortable and who believe that they will only serve to stifle education, they may seem silly. Many beliefs are that with the introduction of trigger warnings will come the censorship of education or that the only reason that this concept even exists now is because "generation crybaby" does not want to face any part of the academic realm that might make them uncomfortable. Naysayers point out that just because it is not discussed in an academic setting doesn't mean it won't exist anymore. Worse, without this experience, college students may not have the vocabulary to deal with these issues once they enter the "real world." Most importantly:
Many academics today stress that without challenge, there is no growth. Students need to show up to and participate in these discussions to become better citizens who are more knowledgeable and more empathetic. This group worries that warning a student ahead of time is a kind of coddling that could stop any real discomfort that often comes with many enriching experiences. What this group fails to recognize is that a student is not growing and learning if they have to abruptly leave the classroom in fear of a panic attack.
Yes, human history is full of triggers. And yes, these events are discussed in an academic setting every day. While we can hope that all students feel comfortable enough to discuss them, that simply isn't always the case. Trigger warnings do not ask for professors to step on eggshells in the classroom, avoiding controversial topics. They ask for a sentence, a warning, so that a student who is unable to handle hearing descriptions of rape or violence can remove themselves from the situation without causing a scene or disrupting the education of their fellow students.
Unfortunately, today, one in four college women report surviving rape or attempted rape at some point in their lives and college campuses are hot beds for this problem. Statistically, it is very likely that at least one woman in a classroom has been affected by a potentially traumatic event. Trigger warnings offer an opportunity for kindness. One sentence could stop a college sophomore who may have been assaulted the previous weekend from reacting negatively during a discussion about sexual assault the following Monday.
Millennials are not without fault. A generation raised on stories, most of us have been led to believe that we are heroes and that we really can be anything we want to be. This generation, one that has spent so much time examining their own thoughts, obsessing over their own world and the stories that have been used to create it, has a unique talent for empathy. The creation of trigger warnings show a real life example of this empathy- the recognition that it is not our place to judge another's experience, and that writers and professors, those who are potentially shaping minds, have the opportunity to be considerate.
Trigger warnings give us the radical opportunity to do something extraordinary: to take an extra minute out of our day to be kind to another person. They in no way effect the experience of those who are not triggered by these events, but they could dramatically improve the life of someone who may be suffering. College is an opportunity for all students to learn, and hopefully something that they do learn is how to imagine others in a complex way, as well as acknowledging our experiences are not universal. Trigger warnings are fully aligned with that cause.
