How the abnormal gets normalized – and what to do about it
BBC
As we browse the news, it's easy to become desensitised to awful events. Amanda Ruggeri explores the psychology, and the steps you can take to avoid it happening.
When people talk about "normalizing" something in 2024, it's often with a positive slant. On social media and off, I've seen calls to normalize everything from postpartum bodies to having mental health conversations at work. The idea, of course, is to break down taboos that can be unhelpful, even dangerous.
But there's another kind of normalization, and it's one that many people are far less aware of. It is less conscious, more pernicious – and can be harmful. This is the normalization of trends, situations and events that really shouldn't be "normal" at all. You also might hear it referred to as "desensitisation," or "habituation."
Think of the wars in Ukraine and Israel-Gaza. The shocking events at the start of these conflicts were new and unexpected, elements which psychologists know draws the mind's attention. As time has passed, media coverage still happens, but these events are now less likely to lead the news in countries like the US, nor arise quite as often in the cultural conversation. Sadly, when a war has lasted months or years, research suggests that an extra week of fighting does not have the impact it did on day one.
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