Human content moderators play a vital role in keeping harmony and positivity on social media pages. However, this kind of task is usually not for the faint of heart because moderators are often directly exposed to uncensored content on the internet.
Brands can also use artificial intelligence tools to free their pages from profanity, bullying, and other undesirable online behaviors. However, human content moderation still has its defining advantage that companies need for their digital platforms.
Importance of human content moderation
Based on a global survey by Statista, an average user spends around 147 minutes a day browsing social media platforms. Brands can leverage this time to increase their visibility and provide more delightful customer experiences that drive more purchases and buyer retention.
Brands are responsible for creating a safe space for their audience, and that is why the demand for human content moderation is continuously rising.
Human content moderators are deployed on the frontlines of online pages, protecting the site’s reputation and customer experience. They are considered as advocates of truth in the online world. They help combat misinformation and disinformation that causes panic for the community members.
Hiring human content moderators, whether outsourced or in-house, is the best way to ensure safety within online communities. It can also encourage users to work with brands to safeguard their well-being and data privacy rights.
Challenges in the human content moderation industry
Everyone in the digital world is vulnerable to cybercrimes, unwanted content, and trolling. The plethora of online users comes with the risk of disorderliness and unruly behaviors. Offenders can quickly get away from their actions if platforms lack monitoring and moderation features.
For instance, social media communities may be infiltrated by troll accounts with the sole intention of bullying and causing negative experiences to other users. Harmful links containing malicious content or malware attacks also compromise users’ privacy in their accounts and devices.
Here are some challenges human content moderators face at daily work:
Exposure to explicit contents
Who knows what an online troll could upload and share to online communities? These explicit contents cause significant damage to a brand’s reputation if not addressed quickly.
Human content moderators, as frontline workers, are the first to see vulgarities and profanities online. Exposure to obscured and horrific content makes human content moderators vulnerable to extreme stress and traumatic experiences.
The emotional impact of disturbing content
It may just be another job, but human content moderation can significantly affect a person’s emotional state. Since it involves human labor, brands must prioritize humanizing each experience for the moderators.
Disturbing contents may linger and attach themselves to the content moderator’s emotional slate. The emotional impact of disturbing content for content moderators may not be measured with numbers but must be considered to the highest consideration.
Mental burnout
The amount of moderated content and the long work hours may be tolerable, but the kind of content they see daily can majorly contribute to their mental burnout. Humans can only take as much information, let alone content that stirs up their way of thinking.
Human content moderation tasks induce psychological effects on the workers, which must be the first to be taken into account.
Four ways to safeguard a content moderator’s welfare
Human content moderators protect the audience’s platform experience, including the brand’s identity and reputation.
In return, they must be given the right consideration and privileges. Here’s how brands or even outsourcing companies can safeguard a content moderator’s mental welfare:
Mental wellness program
Mental wellness programs are the best way to maintain a human content moderator’s mental health. For other roles, wellness programs are included in the perks given to the employees. Companies should also have a mandated initiative to include mental wellness programs in their human content moderation.
On top of their compensation, access to professional psychological services will help them debrief from a highly stressful work routine.
Build rapport within the workplace for support
A great team with solid support systems will aid human content moderators from the pressure and burden of their job role. A healthy working environment greatly contributes to a moderator’s coping strategy, which helps them excel in their field.
Team leaders can motivate their members to practice mindfulness, prioritize self-care, and build human connections within the team.
A healthy working environment with the right balance of productivity and social life can create a strong and sustainable support system for human content moderators.
Reasonable workloads
Digital companies must ensure a reasonable amount of workload to balance out the extent of stress levels moderators experience. Outsourcing added support also aids the workload for content moderators.
An organized task delegation system within the company also helps them focus on the task at hand. It helps eliminate unnecessary stress when the workflow is not optimized.
Invest in the best content moderation tools
AI-powered content moderation tools assist human workers in discerning and filtering posted information on community platforms with less risk of exposure. Automated moderation assists in repetitive tasks, reviewing less sensitive content, and providing real-time feedback.
Investing in the best tools will empower human content moderators in combating misinformation and disinformation within the communities.
