Being a content moderator is no easy job. You have to deal with all kinds of visuals that circulate the internet, especially big social media platforms. Policing the virtual space requires tough personality and a strong stomach. A content moderator is daily exposed to the most brutal contents uploaded on the internet every day and it can do serious damage to the person doing the work for a long period of time. Content moderator services are finding ways how to deal with it and maintain a humane environment for the social media police.

Content moderator services: The trauma that comes with it

Content moderator services strive to achieve a peaceful online community where only friendly and safe interaction only exist. However, with billions of contents uploaded every day, it’s a real challenge for social media platforms to steer away from dangerous content that should be hidden away from the general users. These “dangerous contents” go directly to content moderators for e-moderation.

Dealing with millions of user-generated contents on a daily basis can be draining. Content moderator services often receive 60,000 content every day for review. Each content varies from barbaric images to videos of terrorism and child/human-abuse. Unknown to majority is that a content moderator doesn’t just delete a content, they have to view it repeatedly and watch disturbing videos closely, over and over again, and decide if they pass a social media platforms policy and standards. These kinds of imageries can be totally traumatic and can mentally impair the content moderator in the long run.

Recently, a content moderator from Facebook office in Silicon Valley headquarters accuses the company of not providing enough mental health service facility for its content moderators. The content moderator in California named Selena Scola did not reveal much about the job she engaged in while the lawsuit currently relies on the online documentaries and web search results that tackle the job description of a content moderator, as well as the untold stories of working at a content moderator services company.

How to avoid content moderation burnout

Given the stressful nature of a content moderator job, it’s necessary to implement a safety measure for every employee to maintain their sanity before everybody lose it. Here are better ways to avoid content moderator services burnout:

Segregating reports

Lessening the number of items to be reviewed could be a great help for a content moderator. This could be done thru smart reporting. Developing a program that segregates contents into three categories per level of priority could be the primary move. Content moderator services can also function better with segregated reports. Let the computer handle the easy job and give the rest of the critical cases to humans for decision-making.

Make breaks mandatory

Too much exposure to disturbing content can lead to unfeeling. When a content moderator starts to feel like everything is bad or “deletable”, it can be a problem. Content moderator services companies are advised to encourage their employees to take a break when they obviously need it.

It takes a dedicated content moderator to maintain a humane online space. But one can’t give something if they find themselves empty. Push content moderators to take care of themselves before anything else and everything will follow.

Teach content moderators to ask for help

Content moderators are targeting a quota of almost 25,000 images daily and it can be totally overwhelming. No doubt, there are some cases of content moderators committing suicide in the past years. Never let this happen to your content moderator. When they show some signs of asking for help, listen and give all the support they need. Temporarily spare them the heavy duty of the job and let them back when they have deemed totally refreshed.

Content moderation companies that manage well

There will be no easy ways to stop user-generated contents from flooding the internet. But there are smarter ways to deal with them without sacrificing human resources.

HOPLA is passionate in advocating a violent-free online space for everyone by offering managed content moderator services. The combined power of Artificial Intelligence mixed with human-powered content moderation services has helped many industries maintain a safe environment platform for their audience. Protect your online community now. Ask us for help!