“Uncomfortable” photography in the digital age

Abstract

Are there links between photography and discomfort? Why are images that are disturbing to watch published and shared? Should we show this kind of photographs? From these and other questions, we reflect on the complex role of images in the current digital scenario. Indeed, uncomfortable photographs and disturbing images circulate on the Internet, emphasizing the need to strengthen critical reading and reflective skills. Furthermore, the primacy given to images in contemporary culture, and the manifold ways in which it affects our understanding of the world, sets before us the challenge of developing a form of techno-ethics that will contextualize, and and reflect on, images -especially the uncomfortable and disturbing ones- with a full awareness of the perils of lies, manipulation and power.