TW: This article addresses sensitive issues about 9/11, including deaths and discussion of negative mental health.
“Where were you on the day of 9/11?”, words echoed between parents on many occasions over the years. I was too young to remember where I was on that September day in 2001 when two planes hit the World Trade tragically taking thousands of innocent lives. Yet, whenever this date of rememberance comes around year on year, it never gets any easier. I was only 11 months old at the time, had no relatives taken from me that day and was safe at home in England, and yet just the thought of those terrible events that day hurt so deeply. It stings us all and therefore it seems too impossible to comprehend how Americans – New Yorkers in particular – must be feeling today.
As our generation was too young to remember the day of 9/11, we can only comprehend its perception now. The media’s portrayal of that day in 2001 and the weeks that followed largely failed to focus on the glints of optimism that came out of all the tragedy – the heroism and sense of community that formed against all odds. Is it therefore time for us to reconsider the way we learn about history and our understanding of events all these years on, rather than being wholly consumed by grief?
Following the release of the infamous falling man images, there was public outrage of the exploitation of families’ grief, the snapshot of the unnamed man’s heroic fall to his death divided the whole world. Was this a window into a moment in history that people had to remember or was it a mental health breach that had gone too far?
“Is it right that we should feel the pain of that time as though we were almost there on the streets of New York witnessing both towers collapse in front of us?”
The man behind the photo, Richard Drew of the Associated Press, saw it as his job to document what eventually became history. There was no time to consider the emotional or ethical consequences of his actions and at the moment in time he was just a journalist carrying out his job – informing future generations of the tragedies that were unfolding.
But is it our responsibility and ‘job’ like Drew, as journalists, but also simply as human beings, to equally inform ourselves of a time that has gone by from a human element; to feel the real emotions of a time that has gone by? Is it right that we should feel the pain of that time as though we were almost there on the streets of New York witnessing both towers collapse in front of us?
If these images weren’t out there I think it’s clear to see that the same emotional reaction to 9/11 wouldn’t be felt by younger generations. Therefore, removing these images would be stripping an emotional element of history many would argue; whether this is a good or bad thing is up for debate.
“As we scroll through our social media feeds today, the same videos of the plane striking the WTC towers year on year will undoubtedly appear, so etched into our memory that it’s impact is somehow dumbed down.”
The same stories are told year after year of all those victims who were going about their normal lives just the night before – their lives taken simply because they chose to go the work. Then the more ‘uplifting’ stories have started to appear about those children of 9/11 victims – many of whom are close to our age – following in their parents footsteps as the firefighters and paramedics of tomorrow.
But is this humanisation and sensationalisation of 9/11 the right way for us to be informing and documenting momentous events in history?
As we scroll through our social media feeds today, the same videos of the plane striking the WTC towers year on year will undoubtedly appear, so etched into our memory that it’s impact is somehow dumbed down.
These debates aren’t easy fixes and can’t be fixed over night but it’s important that we start opening up discussions about them for the sake of our mental health. In an attempt to open up this discussion, I took to my Twitter account to find out the mental health impact that 9/11 had on other young people who grew up learning about the tragedies of years gone by.
“Maybe too much emphasis has been placed historically on 9/11 as a era-defining symbol which has been to the detriment of many young people’s mental health and instead the education of the event should be placed as part of a wider discussion about other terror related incidents.”
Eliza Little, only aged three when the 9/11 attacks took place, wrote to me about the trauma she felt growing up in a world that was always under “immense” threat of terror related incidents. Whether it was an attack in London or Paris, she vividly remembers having numerous panic attacks and blaming herself for many of these terror threats as the media coverage of these events, as well as the rememberance of 9/11 every year, largely consumed her.
Eliza also stresses the importance of TV channels respecting the watershed time for displaying the documentaries so that young people largely aren’t exposed to the graphic content within the programmes as it’s being shown late at night. But in an age of social media where information is so easily accessible, perhaps it is the responsibilty of organisations such as Instagram and Twitter to censor more images and videos so that young people don’t remain traumatised from a young age.
Maybe too much emphasis has been placed historically on 9/11 as a era-defining symbol which has been to the detriment of many young people’s mental health and instead the education of the event should be placed as part of a wider discussion about other terror related incidents. This doesn’t mean that we should downgrade the value of those lives lost from the Twin Towers or in someway diminish the magnitude of such a life changing event, but perhaps we should reshape the narrative of how we remember the day and the way its stories are told. When teaching young people about these events growing up, their mental health should be prioritised first and foremost.
This may also mean that more focus is placed on the lessons which have been learned from 9/11 and the steps which have subsequently been put in place in an effort to prevent further terrorist incidents in the future.
“As social media has become increasingly popular, she admits that this is even more of a challenge for young people mentally.”
April Ryan, a contributor for the site, does however see the intense coverage of 9/11 in a different light. Whilst she admits that the events of that day hit her hard – she was only 13 at the time – she admits it helped to shape her perception of the world for the better and forced her to grow up to the realities of life. As the world is filled with imperfections and 9/11 exposed this, it acted as a wake up call for her and normalised other difficulties further down the line. In that respect, she therefore felt that going through the trauma of seeing 9/11 unfold was important in order to inform her view on life. She also argues that many of the photos that were released from the tragedy, humanised many of the stories, even if they exposed people’s griefs, and this was important as it expressed more than words ever could.
“Marking 9/11 may feel insensitive to some, but it is imprinted on a lot of memories. It was a worldwide event, and many families from across the globe lost loved ones on that day, so teaching the younger generation about the impact of terrorism is hugely beneficial.” she added.
She does admit however that switching off from these traumatic events is difficult and something that she herself is still struggling with. As social media has become increasingly popular, she admits that this is even more of a challenge for young people mentally.
Georgia Large was only four months old at the time of 9/11 and takes a similar stance to April. She believes it would be foolish and virtually impossible to censor images from 9/11 when so many people lived through the tragedy. She also sees them as pivotal for educating people about the full force of what happened that day as otherwise people who didn’t live through it what find it too hard to comprehend.
Georgia does however believe that some change is required in the narrative surrounding terrorist incidents more broadly. She believes that too much emphasis has been focused on only educating people about 9/11. She thinks that whilst it’s important to mark this date, people need to be equally informed about other terrorist incidents and their significance.
She also believes that social media has played a role in worsening people’s mental health – a consensus shared by everyone I spoke to. Therefore, better regulating the information young people are exposed to may be key going forward. These graphic images that flood people’s feeds should come with a warning message and some context at the very least, if nothing else.
“most young people don’t remember 9/11 and therefore our perspective of it is shaped by the media consumption we’ve sinced gained about it.”
What these discussions show is that there is a hard balance to strike when educating young people about 9/11. It is hugely important that we keep the victims’ of 9/11 memories alive, not least for the sake of their families. Informing ourselves about these events also sharpens our awareness of the often brutal realities of life and we were able to take lessons from this history about what we should and shouldn’t do going forward. Yet, for young people who are already in a vulnerable position mentally growing up, we must still think about how they are taught in a sensitive way, especially when the added challenges of social media make escaping the 24/7 stream of graphic content even harder.
This brings me back to my first point, most young people don’t remember 9/11 and therefore our perspective of it is shaped by the media consumption we’ve since gained about it. Going forwards, we must construct this narrative in a way that still honours the legacy of the 9/11 victims but also is kind to ourselves. Sadly, we can’t change what happened 19 years ago, but we can still draw positives from the tragedy and shape our understanding in a way that considers the huge magnitude of 9/11 whilst also placing it in the context of a wider discussion about tackling terrorism.
Lauren McGaun
Featured image courtesy Scott Hudson on Flickr. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.