Are You a Negative News Junkie?
While many people are news junkies, who like to stay well-informed and regularly keep track of all news, good and bad, many Americans appear to have developed a preoccupation, or near-obsession, with negative news only, according to researchers. For some people, they say, this has become a compulsive and problematic behavior along the lines of gaming and social media addictions.
The study presented here today, consisted of an online
survey of more than 1,000 adults in the United States. More than 16 percent of
those surveyed reported their news consumption as “severely problematic.”
In addition to feeling stressed and anxious to the point of continually being distracted from their work or schooling, the majority of this subgroup also reported common physical symptoms of stress and anxiety. These included physical symptoms such as gastrointestinal difficulties, generalized physical pain, and fatigue. Additionally, those most affected by negative news reported that their obsession filled their days to the point of interfering with personal relationships, feeling increased restlessness, and developing sleeping problems. The researchers found that the more problematic the news consumption was for an individual, the greater the mental and physical health problems experienced.
Although media outlets make it difficult to avoid bad news, the researchers acknowledge it is their job to report any news, good or bad, that will grab their readers’ attention. It’s how the news industry sustains itself. And granted, the past couple of years brought with them an overwhelming amount of bad news, including a pandemic, multiple mass shootings, out-of-control wildfires, political upheaval, discrimination, economic distress, and mass protests. There’s been no way to follow the news without being bombarded with controversial and negative events.
Rather than disengaging entirely from all news and becoming an uninformed citizen, the researchers say the goal for those who are overly obsessed is to somehow develop a healthier relationship with the news by limiting the need to be on top of the latest development at every waking moment.
As difficult as it may be for some to “tune out” problematic news, those who recognize and understand the damage a negative news compulsion is having on their mental and physical health can make the decision to stop following negative news almost entirely or at least reduce the amount of time spent following up on problematic news stories.
Things to remember
- Overexposure to disturbing news can keep you in a constant dark state of fear and alert.
- When the world seems like a dark and dangerous place, your innate surveillance system can go into overdrive, causing ongoing emotional distress.
- An “addiction” to bad news can make you physically ill and interfere with other, healthier aspects of your life.
Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cravings/202208/are-you-negative-news-junkie
What are your thoughts about the news industry bringing mostly negative visual content into sight?
#News #Addiction #Psychology
@calmDew1576
When I watch the news I do tend to feel myself getting more anxious!
It seems like it's just bad news after bad news.
It can get overwhelming.
So, this article was very informative to me!
Thanks for sharing :) 💛✨
@innateJoy9602 Thank you very much for your reply! Yes this is true and that's where I wanted to focus mostly. The news are still using industrial strategic and sometimes negative news make more impact than the positive ones so they mostly choose those. At the same time we may read worse things at less famous but reliable sources. That's because sometimes channels choose news according to the footage they have taken. The more shocking the better... So yeah, these images can really terrify people and cause negative emotions but they can still bring more audience to the media... This is something that truly disrespects the human nature and psyche so I think society should try to change that. I really hope there will be some steps taken by the media to bring more positive and objective content on surface in longterm... Thank you for reading!
@calmDew1576
Yes, bad news can be really detrimental to our wellbeing and sometimes it feels like the world will go under since nothing good is happening, (From a media standpoint)
