Policing the web: brain burnout for the cops

Interesting NYT story on the mental health toll suffered by people who work for screening companies and monitor the web for depraved content.

Reminds me of that old University of Wisconsin study that my brother participated in when he was a student:  shown loads of graphic and nasty stuff over a lengthy period, he increasingly expressed more ambivalence about it—the toll deadening his normal sense of revulsion.

That profound desensitizing exacts its pound of mental flesh.  In one company, 50 workers review 20m photos a week!  The effect is compared to battle fatigue.

Comments

[D.Blair]

I worked with a guy once that had to do this type of work. He finally hit the wall when he discovered gay midget porn. He was never the same after that.

[Mark]

Does it pay well and have decent insurance? Retirement is coming and I'll need a job.