The Emotional Impact of Working in Investigative Genetic Genealogy

by Cairenn Binder, Assistant Director of the IGG Center at Ramapo College

My friend Jarrett Ross recently posted a video on his YouTube channel Geneavlogger titled, “Why I Quit Investigative Genetic Genealogy”, which describes his journey working as an investigative genetic genealogist and lists his reasons for leaving the field. I was surprised to learn that anyone would voluntarily leave a position in IGG because paid work for practitioners is so sought after. When I viewed the video, however, I could see why someone would make the decision to move on – and recognized some commonalities that I believe are experienced by many IGG practitioners. Jarrett describes the seepage of his IGG career into his personal life – causing fatigue, exhaustion and preventing him from pursuing other passions. 

Jarrett also describes how exciting it was to narrow down leads and help to solve cases of violent crime and unidentified human remains. The thrill of the chase is what draws so many to the field, and the satisfaction of helping bring justice to victims of violent crime is the icing on the cake. With that said, there are some enormous drawbacks to working in IGG, and it is worth examining them before making a decision to jump into this career.

The stories are harrowing

IGG practitioners are tasked with generating investigative leads in some of the most grisly violent crimes imaginable. While our “need to know” is the bare minimum, we are often subject to learning the details of the crimes we are researching, and they can be haunting. It is common for IGG practitioners to express affinity with victims and their families, and traumatic stress, and fear for their personal safety and security – all related to working violent crime cases.

Working in nursing prior to my career in IGG, I am accustomed to hearing and seeing unpleasant things. I have experienced a patient die in one room, and two minutes later put on a smile for a person giving birth to new life in the next room. As a healthcare professional, I learned to steel myself from becoming too invested in the lives of my patients, instead remaining task-oriented and compartmentalizing my feelings. 

In IGG, I do the same. Typically, I do not read about any details that I don’t need to know for my casework. I celebrate the success of generating a lead with my team(s), and take a moment to internally acknowledge the victim or decedent when the lead is confirmed. I try not to get too invested.

Even so, occasionally the details of a case will hit close to home, which can be extremely distressing. The case of Wendy Stephens was particularly difficult for me – killed at just 14 years old, she’d barely had the chance to find her way in the world before her life was taken. My own daughter was 14 when this case was solved, and it was impossible to keep my emotions at bay in spite of my efforts.

You will feel insecure

IGG is a rapidly evolving field. Keeping up with active cases playing out in court, ever-changing database and resource terms of services, and tracking newly introduced legislation could be a full-time job. My Director David Gurney often states that we are playing “Whack-a-Mole” contending with legislation meant to regulate IGG while simultaneously misunderstanding how IGG works. 

When I worked in healthcare, job security in my industry was never a worry. With a near-constant shortage of nurses, I was not concerned that new legislation banning my industry altogether could impact my livelihood.

In IGG, it is true that on any given day, new legislation or a database change could erase the industry entirely. This may be a contributing factor to the discord that seems ever-present in IGG, along with the scarcity of IGG-related jobs to begin with. Living in this reality means contending with some degree of fear and uncertainty – all the time.

The work will bleed into your personal life

Once again, I have to look back on my career in healthcare as it contrasts so greatly with my current role. Rarely, if ever, did I feel compelled to check my work email account on a day off when I worked as a nurse. Never did I start working until I had actually arrived at work. 

Today, however, I opened my eyes at 5:30am and immediately logged on to find out if new matches had populated in a case the IGG Center is working on. It is a common occurrence for me to check my work email and even perform work tasks in the evening or while on vacation. The ability to disconnect and maintain a healthy work-life balance feels significantly more challenging in IGG than it did in my previous career.

IGG practitioners are widely discussed and criticized

The practice of IGG has been debated in the media, in blogs, and in social media since its inception. Crusaders with privacy concerns arguing passionately for tighter legislation face off against investigators and IGG practitioners advocating for the continued practice of IGG. For people working in the field, it is impossible to escape the deluge of vitriol aimed at IGG practitioners.

I experienced this myself in the summer of 2023 when an article was published naming me as an IGG practitioner who had viewed opted out DNA matches in IGG cases. This was the result of a security flaw in programming of some tools which caused opted out matches to appear in outputs, and many (if not most) practitioners were aware of this “loophole”. 

IGG practitioners who were named in the article were, for months, on the receiving end of hateful remarks that went above and beyond criticisms of our practice. I was shocked and saddened to be thrown under the proverbial bus by friends, colleagues and strangers alike who seemed glad of a scapegoat during that time period. It was impossible to escape the comments sections of various social media posts where people openly cheered my and my colleagues’ degradation – well-meaning people sent them to my messages asking, “have you seen what ___ said about you today?”

For months my mental health was impacted by the fallout, but living in the microcosm that is the online “IGG debate” community is not advisable. Thankfully, I was able to get myself outside, reconnect with my friends and hobbies, and realize that the world is full of many people – and most of them do not write bad things about me online.

Discussion and debate are vital to progress, which is why we welcome criticisms of IGG at RCNJ’s annual IGG conference, RIGG. IGG practitioners should be aware, however, that some critics are wont to spout hyperbole and personal attacks in their campaigns against IGG practitioners.

How to cope

While the field is incredibly difficult to work in, IGG certainly has its rewards. It is a career that can be worked, in many cases, entirely remotely – offering desirable flexibility and comfort. It is one of the few careers in which civilian true-crime enthusiasts can impact the path to justice for victims. It is a fun job where friendship, teamwork and collaboration are critical to success. Finally, it is a career in which a single person can make a lasting impact for good in the world. I count myself lucky to be here, in spite of the challenges.

While I don’t always take my own advice (working on it!), I am happy to dole it out. Here are my tips for maintaining balance and a positive mindset while working in IGG:

• Utilize mental health resources. We are fortunate to live in a time where mental health is becoming more of a priority, and utilizing mental health care has become less stigmatized. There are many resources available to members of the general public at no cost, including crisis hotlines and online wellness guides. This guide from the NIH has a listing of some available resources. 
• Draw healthy boundaries. A former student in the Ramapo IGG certificate program once shared her experience as an emergency services operator, during which she would receive calls from people in distress during the most critical periods of their lives. She described the process of separating her work and home life, essentially “hanging up” her job at the end of the day and not taking her work home with her. The same can be applied to IGG – it is difficult to compartmentalize and separate ourselves from our casework, but it is necessary to avoid burnout and traumatic stress. Setting working hours and avoiding thoughts of cases and casework while not working is one way to draw a healthy boundary and protect your mental health.
• Avoid online discussions. I have learned the hard way not to argue with people online. It never resolves the situation, and in fact only increases post engagement for the people starting the arguments. When it comes to spirited debate that devolves into personal attacks, remember that hurt people hurt people and the attack is probably not really about you. Debate is necessary, but fighting on social media will not result in any big wins for IGG and only serves to make everyone look bad.
• Touch Grass. When you are nose-deep in casework, engrossed in social media, and working all hours of the day to promote your IGG career, it is easy to lose sight of the wider world. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, overworked, or overly zealous, it’s time to disconnect. Go for a walk without your phone (I personally enjoy a nice graveyard walk) and remember that there is a world outside of IGG.