Some of the terrified teenagers of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, used social media to bear witness to the recurring tragedy of our time: a mass shooting.

These children, who've grown up with smartphones at the ready, did what comes naturally to them and shared their experiences on platforms like Twitter and Snapchat. The images, sounds, and comments they transmitted to their friends and family quickly went viral, providing the world horrifying glimpses of what it's like to hear a gunman roam the halls of your school.

By documenting their experiences, victims could give loved ones instant updates, receive prayers and sympathy in return, and perhaps even feel some sense of control. They also created a public record that cannot be ignored or sanitized, forcing Americans to again reckon with the political numbness to mass shootings.

Yet as their messages spread far and wide, it made students vulnerable to the harsh judgment of strangers, and increased the chances that social media bystanders would in turn be traumatized by the graphic content.

Read the full article about the effects of school shootings broadcast on social media by Rebecca Ruiz at Mashable.