You wake up in the morning, check Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, your email, and every one of them seems to bear headlines of tornadoes, shootings, and other catastrophes. You click some of the headlines and ignore others. “Too sad,” you think. It’s not that you don’t care, it’s that you care too much and you are worn out and exhausted by the negativity. Sound familiar?
There is empirical evidence that suggests depressing news headlines cause people increased stress, anxiety, and exacerbates personal worries in their own lives. Sure, we look at stories specifically marked “good news,” but the number of those stories we see seems to pale in comparison to the tragedies reported every day. In part, this is because of a psychological phenomenon called Negativity Bias, which suggests people’s brains are literally wired to pay closer attention to negative information than positive information.
Sure, this was helpful to keep us from being eaten by saber-tooth tigers, but our brain’s biological response to focus on perceived threats is bringing down our mood and making it difficult to keep up with global events. A recent study concluded that just three minutes of negative news in the morning could contribute to people being 27% more likely to report having a bad day later on.
If you feel worn down from a news onslaught, here’s five things you can do to feel better in the face of all that online negativity!
1. Don’t start your day by checking the news
Or your phone. Instead of reaching for it out of habit, go make yourself a nice cup of coffee, write in a journal, make a healthy breakfast, etc. Your phone and the news can wait while you start your day on a positive note
2. Consume news differently
If you usually watch the news on television or listen to in-depth podcasts, try switching to online articles only, and be selective with the articles you choose! You don’t have to click on every link and try subscribing to an outlet that shares a mix of cultural, political, economic and world news so that you aren’t just consuming a single type of negative headline.
3. Don’t rely on a single outlet
Diversify! The more opinions and perspectives, the more context on a story you will have and the less likely you are to simply take a depressing piece of information at face value. It’s important to mix it up and rely on different sources and multiple opinions.
4. Try a Media Detox
If you’re still feeling burned out or having a hard time keeping up, try detoxing from the media (and your phone). This will help give you a much-needed break from sensory overload. Even the stories that aren’t crazy depressing can be overhyped, and it really can be exhaustive to try to keep up when you’re bombarded with headlines 24/7 across all social media channels. Try taking a break! It’s easier said than done, but just start small by leaving your phone at home when you go on a walk, or putting it on airplane mode for a few hours during the day. Little changes will make a big impact!
5. Subscribe to a “good news” newsletter
This is my favourite point. If you Google “good” news, there are tons of outlets that specifically cater to reporting on positive and upbeat stories around the world. Our brains may be wired to pay attention to negative info, but we can override that impulse and add a little positivity to our lives.
There’s a lot of negativity in the world, but there’s a lot of good things too. Sometimes the key to happiness really is your mindset, and taking careful action to surround yourself with positivity. You deserve it!
Thanks for reading, everyone!
– Noah