Strengthening Community Bonds After Terrorist Attacks
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Understanding Collective Trauma
Collective disasters impact everyone in society. The psychological repercussions of shared traumas, such as natural disasters and terrorist incidents, create waves of emotional distress that extend beyond those directly affected. While the immediate victims feel the brunt of the trauma, feelings of grief and anxiety can gradually affect others, diminishing in intensity with each degree of separation.
Empathy acts as a catalyst in this emotional spread—when we relate to others, their suffering resonates with us. Is it possible for some positive outcomes to emerge from such widespread pain, even after the most harrowing collective traumas?
Community Solidarity in Times of Crisis
A common response to traumatic events is a sense of solidarity. Public marches, memorials, and shared expressions of grief highlight our interconnectedness. Strangers often unite to offer support. This collective emotional response may foster societal cooperation and a sense of belonging during trying times.
Despite skepticism about online platforms promoting social unity—due to frequent conflicts among users—these networks provide broader avenues for communication and sharing content. If people indeed come together following traumatic events, we can potentially observe these positive interactions in online messages shared during significant national tragedies.
Analyzing Social Media Responses
A recent study investigated this notion by examining Twitter content from France related to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. The researchers analyzed tweets with relevant hashtags from the time of the attacks, excluding retweets, and focused on posts from users located in France. The analysis encompassed over 60,000 Twitter users who were aware of the unfolding tragedy.
The findings revealed a significant increase in Twitter activity coinciding with the attacks, confirming that the incident influenced online engagement. The researchers utilized a computer model to categorize the language in these tweets into various themes: emotional content (e.g., happiness, sadness), social content (e.g., relationships, social activities), French values (e.g., liberty, equality), and prosocial behavior (e.g., caring, solidarity).
On the day of the attack, tweets expressing negative emotions surged and remained elevated for the following week. This emotional synchronization indicated a collective response to the tragedy. The predominant emotions identified were anxiety, sadness, and notably, anger. Anxiety was the most frequently expressed emotion immediately after the attack, with sadness following closely, while anger was less prevalent but still significant. These emotions demonstrated consistent patterns across multiple days.
What About Prosocial Language?
In contrast to emotional tweets, expressions of solidarity and shared values peaked the day after the attacks rather than on the day of the event. Similar to emotional content, this increase in prosocial language persisted over several days, indicating a collective memory of support. Following national tragedies, societies often first experience a wave of grief and anxiety, followed by a surge of mutual support and social connection.
At the group level, collective prosocial behavior became evident on Twitter after the trauma. However, examining individual responses reveals a more nuanced picture. The researchers differentiated users based on their emotional synchronization—those who displayed high emotional synchronization posted more emotional tweets in the two weeks following the attack than they had prior to the event. Essentially, these individuals engaged in a collective emotional response.
Though both high and low emotional synchronizers were equally likely to share tweets about sociality and shared values before the attack, the high synchronizers were significantly more active in posting such messages afterward. Their emotional expressions transitioned into collective displays of solidarity.
The research suggests that traumatic events can unite people in shared experiences and support, even within the often tumultuous environment of online social networks. While this study relied on observational data and correlation, further experimental research is needed to clarify the causal relationships behind these behavioral patterns. Nonetheless, it offers an early glimpse of a potential silver lining amid the darkest tragedies our societies face.
The Role of Leadership in Fostering Unity
Strong leaders often invoke themes of solidarity in the aftermath of collective tragedies, recognizing the importance of social cohesion in uplifting spirits and strengthening communities. In a speech after the 2017 terrorist attack in London, Mayor Sadiq Khan emphasized that Londoners would “stand in defiance” united by “love for one another,” asserting that the terrorists would “never succeed in dividing our city.” Such messages are vital for promoting healthy psychological responses and fostering resilience in communities navigating tragedy.
Pain and suffering can serve not only as symptoms of national disasters but also as crucial elements that forge stronger social bonds among those with shared values. As we endure collective hardships—whether within families, teams, or broader communities—we can transform our mutual suffering into a unifying force. While there will always be individuals attempting to sow division after traumatic events, we can choose to support those who champion emotional connection, social resilience, and ultimately, greater strength in the aftermath of tragedy.
Exploring Terrorism and Social Media
This video examines the influence of social media on terrorist incitement, highlig