I wouldn't assume "watches this stuff" and "is psychologically capable of tolerating this stuff" are one and the same. Those people might be actively harming themselves by watching the content. That's one thing when they're volunteering to do so (though that's an interesting conversation in and of itself) but it's quite another when Facebook is paying them to do it.
One day I had an anxiety attack because I had a dream that I had a heart attack and suddenly I had a deep fear of randomly dying.
All the random deaths on that sub started to really get to me, I even started to get depressed. It became harder and harder to watch content on it. Eventually I unsubbed from it and gradually bounced back to normal.
I don't really regret it because it gave me a new perspective on life and how valuable it is. But I would be lying if I said it didn't fuck me up in a way.
take ER doctors. they daily witness human trauma far worse than viewing horror show videos and images. do you ever hear about ER docs who become depressed or mentally ill from being exposed to so much horrific human suffering? Doctors have a personal sense of doing good in the world through healing. They witness so much trauma that they become so desensitized that non doctors often criticize them for seeming so detached and for treating human bodies like mechanistic processes. But doctors have to be somewhat detached in order to do their jobs well.
It's not specifically about ER doctors. Anecdotally, I'm a lawyer, and they warned us in law school that lawyers have abnormally high rates of substance abuse and depression, and constant jokes to the contrary not withstanding, most lawyers believe they do good. Emotionally hard jobs are hard, even if they are indisputably good.
Yes you do! But I would imagine it is at least somewhat offset by the fact that they are doing a lot of good: they are saving people from death while also witnessing death. I think a content moderator would struggle to feel such a strong sense of purpose.