threat fatigue

threat fatigue
(THRET fuh.teeg)
n.
Ignoring or downplaying possible threats because one has been subjected to constant warnings about those threats.
Example Citation:
Over all, the decision against a public alert represents a significant shift in the thinking of senior government officials over the last several months. Some officials said they had become concerned about the process after several public warnings were issued last fall based on hazy intelligence reports that offered no guidance on how anyone could respond.
They said they feared that such alerts might be causing "threat fatigue" among Americans, who have been bombarded by so many unspecific warnings that they no longer arouse much concern.
— Don Van Natta Jr, and David Johnston, "New F.B.I. Alert warns of threat tied to July 4," The New York Times, June 30, 2002
Earliest Citation:
Tales of soaring crime rates cause the old and frail to change their lifestyles to their own detriment, because no one points out that most violent crime occurs between male youths in the vicinity of licensed premises. All dogs of certain breeds are classed as potential mutilators, despite the innocence of most and appalling guilt elsewhere. At some point along the way between global warming, salmonella, Rottweilers, BSE, sewage in the sea, corgis, nitrates in water and supermarket trolleys in canals, danger degrades into farce.
I can't help but think that threat fatigue might partly account for the current 2 per cent showing of the Green Party in the opinion polls.
— Jeremy Burgess, "Danger? What danger?," New Scientist, October 19, 1991
Notes:
Of the several dozen media citations I found for "threat fatigue," all but five appeared since June 30, when the F.B.I. warning about a possible July 4 terrorist attack was leaked to the media. Interestingly, the phrase was previewed by Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge in an interview earlier in the month:
There's benefit to reminding America of the longtime implications of this challenge. A greater challenge is how we deal with the information we want to share with America, because there is a concern about threat fatigue.
— Tom Ridge, interview with Alexis Simendinger, "In Search of Secure Solutions," The National Journal, June 8, 2002
Related Words:
newsfasting
Category:

New words. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • e-mail fatigue — (EE.mayl fuh.teeg) n. Mental exhaustion caused by receiving a large number of email messages each day. Example Citation: Robert Cavalier, philosophy professor at Carnegie Mellon University, is experiencing e mail fatigue. Originally Cavalier… …   New words

  • feature fatigue — n. Mental exhaustion and stress caused by products that come with a large number of features. Example Citations: I really want a digital camera. In fact, I tried to buy one twice. The first time the sheer number of choices freaked me out and I… …   New words

  • frugal fatigue — n. Mental exhaustion caused by constant frugality during hard economic times. Also: frugality fatigue. Example Citations: t seems that after a year of watching our wallets, bank accounts, and 401(k) plans with the tenacity of a wheelchair bound… …   New words

  • social networking fatigue — n. Mental exhaustion and stress caused by creating and maintaining an excessive number of accounts on social networking sites. Also: social network fatigue. Example Citations: Since, ostensibly, it s you who has been providing all this content… …   New words

  • diversity fatigue — (di.VUR.suh.tee fuh.teeg) n. A form of mental exhaustion brought on by the constant attention required to ensure a workforce or other group is racially or ethnically diverse. Example Citation: Last May, the major networks presented prime time… …   New words

  • password fatigue — n. Mental exhaustion and frustration caused by having to remember a large number of passwords. Example Citations: One of the tribulations of internet life is password fatigue. Use a different one for every website and you re likely to forget them …   New words

  • apocalypse fatigue — n. Reduced interest in current or potential environmental problems due to frequent dire warnings about those problems. Example Citations: Heading into one of the most important climate change summits ever, global warming has an image problem. For …   New words

  • information fatigue syndrome — n. The weariness and stress that result from having to deal with excessive amounts of information. Also: IFS. Example Citation: Psychologist Dr David Lewis, who was involved in preparing the report, suggested that a new phenomenon, information… …   New words

  • Pathophysiology of chronic fatigue syndrome — The pathogenesis of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is uncertain, but may involve multiple organ and body systems, including neurological, endocrinal and immunological factors.Nervous system factorsNeurological abnormalitiesCFS may involve… …   Wikipedia

  • Directed attention fatigue — (DAF) is a neurological phenomenon that results from overuse of the brain’s inhibitory attention mechanisms, which handle incoming distractions while maintaining focus on a specific task. The greatest threat to a given focus of attention is… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”