War in the Age of Live Streaming: How the Internet Changed the Meaning of Remembrance and Collective Memory

A report published by the Canadian CBC News network warned of the profound transformation caused by live streaming of wars and armed conflicts online in collective consciousness and commemorative practices, noting that “modern wars are no longer narrated after they end, but are lived and broadcast in real time.”

The report, titled “Remembrance — When War Is Livestreamed,” explained that the spread of smartphones and social media platforms has made millions of users around the world direct witnesses to violence and human suffering, changing the nature of collective memory from an act of remembering and reflection to an immediate and continuous experience of shock.
Media and behavioral science experts cited in the report believe that this pattern of “instant war watching” blurs the boundaries between human and political reality, creating a state of collective emotional exhaustion that reduces societies’ ability to absorb the event and remember it within its historical context.
The report pointed out that commemorative institutions — such as museums and national ceremonies — today face an unprecedented challenge in the era of live streaming, as the public no longer consumes war as a distant memory, but as a daily renewed event passing before them on screens, redefining concepts such as “witness,” “victim,” and “hero” in popular consciousness.
Researchers also warned that the instantaneous repetition of horrific scenes across social networks may cause psychological effects similar to post-traumatic stress disorder in some users, even those not directly involved in conflicts, affirming that continuous exposure to digital violence reshapes the way humans deal with pain and loss.
The report concluded by emphasizing that wars broadcast live “change not only the way we see them, but the way we remember them,” calling for a reconsideration of the meaning of remembrance in an era where truth has become instantaneous, and destruction is watchable live from anywhere in the world.