BATH: Streaming service Netflix is downplaying youth issues in its series like Stranger Things and Spider-Man, a new study has found.
After studying more than 60 hours of Netflix movies and TV shows, psychologists from the University of Bath and the University of Calgary concluded that the portrayal of suffering in young characters in the series is misleading.
Physical trauma on Netflix is usually only shown as a form of violence or injury (such as an assault or accident). Whereas in the real world, ailments such as headaches, back pain and cancer are more real forms of suffering.
Because these Netflix productions are usually aimed at young people, experts are urging the streaming platform to change the way it portrays suffering in order to teach youth compassion and empathy.
Dr Abbie Jordan, from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Bath, said: “If the types of pain that young people commonly suffer from, such as backaches or headaches, are not being shown, it means that the pain is largely unimportant.” It is being made and presented.
“We are not doing an adequate job of teaching young people how to deal with pain, how to talk about it and how to show compassion if someone else is in pain,” he said.
The study, published in the journal Pain, only studied physical pain rather than psychological pain. In the study, researchers examined the pain of characters portrayed in various Netflix shows aimed at 12- to 18-year-olds.
A total of 732 traumatic events were observed across 16 productions, and most (57 percent) of the events were based on traumatic or traumatic experiences rather than chronic or medical distress.
