Over the last few weeks, there have been a lot of terrible and traumatic things happening in Israel and Gaza.
Images from this crisis, including some that show people being killed, have been surfacing all over social media.
You may have seen them, too.
For some kids, seeing those images has been really scary.
“I honestly worried that these pictures would stay in my brain forever.” – Inayah Asif, 12.
So what do you do when you see something disturbing online and get scared?
CBC Kids News talked to two experts to find out how kids can stay informed while also protecting themselves from traumatic news.
Smoke rises after rockets were launched from Gaza into Ashkelon, Israel, on Oct. 7. (Image credit: Amir Cohen/Reuters)
Kids say images online have been scary
Inayah Asif, a 12-year-old from Calgary, Alberta, said she was scrolling on Instagram when she saw a video that really scared her.
“I saw a video of a hospital being bombed, with so many people, including kids, inside,” she said. “I honestly worried that these pictures would stay in my brain forever.”
Inayah said that the video made her cry, and she’s had nightmares about it.
“I was thinking about the images for days after. Sometimes I can’t even sleep at night remembering these pictures,” she said.
Inayah said she felt sad because she feels like she’s powerless to help, and afraid about whether something like this could happen in Canada.
“I started wondering, could this happen to me?” she said.
Stella Day-Gervais, an 11-year-old from Cochrane, Alberta, said she was also freaked out after seeing some disturbing images on the news.
Inayah Asif, 12, left, and Stella Day-Gervais, 11, say they’ve had a hard time shaking off some of the images they’ve seen out of Gaza and Israel in the last couple of weeks. (Images submitted by Nida Nigar and Jacqueline Day)
“Me and my family usually watch the news at least once a week,” Stella said.
“There was one image with a house with blood smeared across the floor, and it scared me.”
Like Inayah, part of her fear was whether the violence could come to Canada.
“My worst fear is that it would get bigger and be bad for my family who lives in Europe, and then I was nervous that it could come here,” she said.
Even after a week or so, she’s also had a hard time shaking it.
“I still sort of think about it today,” she said. “I’ve been talking to my friends about it a lot because they’re also scared and some are having nightmares.”.
Smoke and flames in Gaza City on Oct. 7. (Image credit: Ashraf Amra/Reuters)
What should kids do when they see disturbing content?
According to Toronto, Ontario-based psychologist Todd Cunningham, the reason we can feel so scared by images in the news is because of survival mechanisms in our brain.
“When we see something scary on the TV, our brain doesn’t really know that that isn’t right here with us. Our brain just wants to keep us safe,” he told CBC Kids News.
For Stella, learning more about the story helped remind her brain that she was safe.
“I researched it a lot to learn what’s going on and why it’s happening,” she said. “I learned it isn’t a big threat to Canada, which helped make me more calm.”
Both Stella and Inayah said that talking it through with their family has also helped make them feel better.
Cunningham said that Stella and Inayah’s strategies are actually some of the recommendations he offers kids to help manage their fear. He gave Kids News five suggestions:
1. Getting context — We can manage our fear by learning more about the story to help us understand that there’s not a direct threat to us. It can also help to learn about what’s being done to help.
2. Talk to someone — Fear needs to be processed and it’s hard to do that on our own. Talking to a trusted adult allows us to talk through our fears and be reassured that we are safe.
3. Removing triggers — If images or parts of a story have made you really upset, it may be time to take a break. For example, you might want to ask your parents to turn off the news for now or leave conversations about the topic at school.
4. Self-talk — When you’re scared, telling yourself that you are safe and that there are people around to protect you can help you calm down.
5. Finding control — Doing things that make us feel like we have control in a situation can help with fear. You could try writing letters to those in need, creating support packages, or finding people in your community you can help support.
For kids who still want to be informed but are finding themselves scared, Cunningham said they should consider watching the news with an adult.
“If you’re going to watch news that may be disturbing, sit down with a trusted adult so you can talk through what you’re seeing and process your fears,” he said.
Here’s how to cope with traumatizing news
Tweaking your social media can help, too
Matthew Johnson, the director of education at MediaSmarts — a Canadian organization that helps kids and youth learn about digital media — said that kids are often exposed to disturbing content online, and it can be hard to avoid.
That being said, there are things kids can do.
This includes:
Turning off autoplay on apps that include the option, such as YouTube and X (formerly Twitter).
Turning on restricted mode on apps that allow it, which filters out extreme content that has been flagged.
Taking a break from social media.
A girl is comforted by her mother after a rocket, launched from the Gaza Strip, landed in Ashkelon, Israel, on Oct. 10. If images on social media or in the news are making you feel sad or scared, you can find ways to tune them out. (Image credit: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)
Some images online aren’t real. Here’s how to tell what isn’t:
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The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
On Aug. 1 eligibility for the 30-year amortization was changed to include first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home.
Justice Minister Arif Virani is also releasing drafts for a bill of rights for renters as well as one for homebuyers, both of which the government promised five months ago.
Virani says the government intends to work with provinces to prevent practices like renovictions, where landowners evict tenants and make minimal renovations and then seek higher rents.
The government touts today’s announced measures as the “boldest mortgage reforms in decades,” and it comes after a year of criticism over high housing costs.
The Liberals have been slumping in the polls for months, including among younger adults who say not being able to afford a house is one of their key concerns.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – The head of a federal inquiry into foreign interference says she will not be publicly identifying parliamentarians suspected by a spy watchdog of meddling in Canadian affairs.
The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians raised eyebrows earlier this year with a public version of a secret report that said some parliamentarians were “semi-witting or witting” participants in the efforts of foreign states to meddle in Canadian politics.
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As inquiry hearings resume today, commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue cautions that the allegations are based on classified information, which means the inquiry can neither make them public, nor even disclose them to the people in question.
As a result, she says, the commission of inquiry won’t be able to provide the individuals with a meaningful opportunity to defend themselves.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – The judge overseeing the sexual assault trial of former vice-admiral Haydn Edmundson is reading his decision in an Ottawa court this morning.
Edmundson was the head of the military’s personnel in 2021 when he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman while they were deployed together back in 1991.
The trial was held in February, but the verdict has been delayed twice.
The complainant, Stephanie Viau, testified at trial that she was in the navy’s lowest rank at the time of the alleged assault and Edmundson was an officer.
Edmundson pleaded not guilty, and testified that he never had sexual contact with Viau.
He was one of several high-ranking military leaders accused of sexual misconduct in 2021, a scandal that led to an external report calling for sweeping changes to reform the culture of the Armed Forces.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
