If trauma seems ubiquitous online, that’s because it has become the authentic experience par excellence — uniquely able to hold our gaze and compel us to keep watching. This casual misuse shouldn’t distract from the fact that “trauma" refers to a real mode of experience that demands seriousness, but we need to unpack the ways it has become synonymous with “the real."Read more essays on living with technology at https://reallifemag.com and follow us on Twitter @_reallifemag