Images of the dozens of Iraqi civilians killed and injured by a suicide bombing in Baghdad haunt living rooms in the U.S. But these nightmarish pictures are just a drop in the sea of tragedy that can be found on a television set almost any day. Some depict horror on an inconceivable scale, such as the earthquake that destroyed the ancient Iranian city of Bam, leaving an estimated 41,000 dead. Faced with these images, most of us either become overwhelmed with sadness or go numb, failing to muster up any emotion at all.

In his book, The New Brain: How the Modern Age is Rewiring Your Mind, neuropsychiatrist, Richard Restak argues that technology is reshaping the way we think, feel and respond. Thanks to high-definition screens and surround sound, our brains process filmed events as if they were actually happening to us. News footage can activate the same brain areas involved in the feeling and expressing of real-life emotions.

When we see visual depictions of suffering or carnage, the brain activity shifts away from the language-based, rational left side to the right side, which dominates in emotional processing and in the decoding of visual imagery. That is why watching can pack a more powerful emotional impact than reading. When it all becomes too much, our brains react by becoming desensitized, leaving us numb to the barrage of violence.

"If I read about a tragedy in the newspaper," Restak says, "I know more than a TV watcher—I'm better informed. If I watch scenes of the earthquake's aftermath on a 25-year-old television set, I might be reminded of other killings and tragedies, but the effect is not terribly strong. But if I have an HDTV with a screen just a little smaller than one you find in a movie theater, the blood, the screaming and the anguished faces are going to hit home. I will have less actual information about the event, but I will have a stronger reaction."

Constant exposure to these images can numb viewers, leading them to respond to a real tragedy as if it were a movie, Restak says. While we might watch coverage of far-away tragedies out of a sense of guilt or compassion, the effect may encourage a passive response to a trauma right in front of us.

Sticking to written accounts of violence and concentrating on the facts of an event can help, Restak says. Watching disturbing news while alone is particularly harmful; interacting with friends and family reminds us of the difference between "real" and "imagined" life.

While traumatic events seem to come at us uncontrollably, we do have the power to turn off the TV, shielding ourselves from both trauma and desensitization—and ironically, that may help us tackle the problems within our control, says Restak: "When we are not 'burned out' or desensitized by media-derived emotions, we can reach out to others."

• Free Brochures
• Books
• Education
• Health & Lifestyle