The white collar desk job that's giving people PTSD: Content Moderators

[mattbell]

Ms. Laperal also reached some unsettling conclusions in her interviews with content moderators. She said they were likely to become depressed or angry, have trouble forming relationships and suffer from decreased sexual appetites. Small percentages said they had reacted to unpleasant images by vomiting or crying.

“The images interfere with their thinking processes. It messes up the way you react to your partner,” Ms. Laperal said.

Sounds like psychological trauma to me.  However, what these people are doing is sitting at a desk all day and reviewing the content we all upload to various sites.  Many big tech companies outsource this work.  Google keeps it in house (reviewing videos for youtube) but monitors employees closely for signs of stress and doesn't let them do it for more than a year.

Unfortunately, this isn't a problem that's easy to solve.  While computer vision can recognize some objectionable content, some of it is just too subtle. 

Read more here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/19/technology/19screen.html

 

Comments

[sarcazm.livejournal.com]

unfortunately, for those of us that find some of the most depraved things still highly amusing, like in communities like wtf_inc and dare i mention 4chan, there would definitely be issues in regards to adhering to content standards irt what's appropriate and what's not. sure, some of us might not end up suffering psychological issues or job stress from it, but then again we wouldn't necessarily be very good at adhering to company policies.

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

So what you're saying is that the only people capable of doing this job without enduring psychological torment are not capable of functioning in a work environment?

[sarcazm.livejournal.com]

definitely not. but i also highly doubt they would make it past the hiring process without lying through their teeth, much like trying to land on an "unbiased" jury. i'm just thinking along the lines of a potential (albeit subjective) bell curve. and of course, corporate america.