Skip to main content

Five Reasons Why Excessive News Consumption is Harmful to Your Health

News Around World Stock Illustrations – 571 News Around World Stock Illustrations, Vectors & Clipart - Dreamstime

When is enough, enough?  

Are you a self-proclaimed news junkie? Do you spend hours scrolling through your social media feeds to consume the latest political, health, environmental or technology news? Understanding current events and what’s happening around the world keeps us informed and helps us to understand what might affect our lives. But when does news consumption become harmful to our mental health and productivity?

Negative news stories increase personal worry

We’re inundated with negative news stories daily. Conflicts, natural disasters, and other upsetting events are routinely pushed to our news feeds on social media, in newspapers, and through our electronic devices.

Often times we feel anxious when we hear about distressing events and have empathy for those who are affected. But, did you know that according to psychologists, negative news could aggravate our personal worries that are not even related to the content of the news story? 

Solution: If you’re worried about a problem that exists in your life, reduce your negative news consumption to alleviate excessive anxiety about it.

Partisan news stories and discussions cause stress and frustration

According to researchers at Stanford University, American political language, which is routinely picked up by news sites is increasingly partisan. This study indicates that both parties promote their agenda by using language with distinctive subtexts. An example is “death taxes” versus “estate taxes.” “Death taxes” has a negative undertone and the language is used to influence our reaction to it.

This biased language makes us increasingly polarized and discussions become antagonistic, especially on social media. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, 59% of those who were surveyed found that when discussing politics on social media with those who they disagree with find it “stressful and frustrating.” And 37% are “worn out” by the number of political discussions that they see.

Solution: If political news stories and discussions are causing you stress and frustration, limit time on social media and unfollow sites that you believe are biased. Avoid engaging in conversations that invoke emotional responses. 

Repeated negative news stories make us feel unsafe

Journalists recognize that negative headlines outperform positive headlines and there is evidence that we might be neurologically wired to focus on negative information. Because negativity attracts attention, naturally the media repeatedly serves it up in spades.

What happens when we’re flooded with violent and negative news? Mary McNaughton-Cassill has studied the effects of media on stress since the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. In an article published by WPR, she indicates that when we’re surrounded by global, negative, or dangerous information 24/7, it makes us assume that things are more dangerous than they are. Other researchers refer to this phenomenon as "mean world syndrome.”

Solution:

If exposure to news is causing you feelings of hopelessness, McNaughton-Cassillrecommends a media vacation. She suggests, “…switch off the news, unplug from social media apps, and do something else.” 

Excessive consumption of news destroys our productivity

When you were a child, did you have a relentless little brother or sister who always begged for attention? This is the news in today’s world. It’s pushed us on our mobile devices; it’s blasting at the gym and it’s even shown when we’re getting a manicure.

Americans spend 57 minutes a day consuming news on news sites and television networks, and 13 additional minutes daily reading/watching news online.[1] Considering most of the information we learn is for entertainment purposes only, and it is not actionable, we could be focusing our time on other activities that make a profound difference in our lives. Imagine what you could do with another hour or so a day!

Solution:

Escape from media and practice attention restoration. Take a hike spend some time at the beach or play a round of golf. 

Fake news makes us feel deceived and can be dangerous

By now, you’ve probably heard that fake news websites are lurking everywhere. These fraudulent websites publish propaganda and false information, typically by impersonating established news sites.

Does fake news affect your mental health and safety? Of course. Misinformation can lead to fear, chaos, and panic. And, we feel betrayed when we realize we’ve been deceived.

Solution:

Fact checks the news before you read it. First, check the URL. Does it end with .co instead of .com? If it is questionable, check Snopes.com, which has been monitoring fake news and urban legends since the 90s. 

Staying informed of current events that affect our daily lives is important. However, if you have anxiety about the happenings in the world, which coincide with thoughts related to what you consume from the press, it might be time to put yourself on a media diet.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why and when did the US start changing the clock?

Only 70 countries around the world "save daylight" every year Once again, it's that time of year! In the morning, you open your eyes to see the kitchen clock showing 8 am, despite the fact that your alarm clock was scheduled to go off at 7 am. You're certain you'll be late to work.  But hold on a second.  You are on time. Daylight Saving Time is now in effect.  Clocks throughout the globe go forward or backward an hour twice a year, depending on the year.  But why bother? And will the United States' erratic time zones come to an end?  When Daylight Savings Time was first introduced, farmers were given an additional hour in the sun each day for harvesting crops. However, this isn't the underlying reason for its widespread adoption.  By lengthening daylight hours, Daylight Saving Time (DST) reduces power use. To make the most of the longer days, many nations, including the United States, observe Daylight Savings Time (DST) for eight months of the year then r
5 comments
Read more

Social Media has too much Influence in Politics

Social media platforms have lately aided in the staging of rallies against racism around the nation, prompting teens and K-Pop lovers to register for a Trump rally in June despite having no intention of attending. However, social media usage influences young users' political beliefs and participation in other ways, such as exposing users to specific viewpoints or impacting their awareness of current events. According to a Pew Research Center poll, the majority of questioned youths said social media introduced them to individuals from other backgrounds and perspectives and helped them demonstrate support for causes and topics that were important to them.  For BYU students, the report's findings reflect their perceptions of how social media platforms affect their political beliefs.  In an informal Instagram survey conducted on The Daily Universe's account, 89 percent of the 273 respondents stated that social media had influenced their political beliefs and activity. When pres
3 comments
Read more

The World's Most Popular Social Networks, Ranked

  This picture illustrates the world's largest social networks, as measured by monthly active members (MAUs). Currently, over 4.5 billion individuals worldwide use some type of social media, accounting for around 57% of the global population.  Despite the fact that social media has a large and diversified audience, only a few businesses control the bulk of the world's most popular social media platforms. Meta, the old Facebook, owns four of the top five most popular platforms.  Where do Facebook members live? The platform's largest viewership is from India, with almost 350 million users. The United States has 193.9 million users, followed by Indonesia with 142.5 million.  Not every social media behemoth is in Meta's network. Meta's second-largest platform, and third largest social network globally, WhatsApp has almost 2 billion MAUs.  Like Facebook, around 390 million WhatsApp users reside in India. Brazil has 108 million WhatsApp users.  Global Social Media? Never 
3 comments
Read more