It goes without saying that the world around us does not appear to be in good shape. Not in my recent, live recollection, at any rate. We are continuously assaulted with news, from the recent political atmosphere to the COVID epidemic and the horrible events in Ukraine. Today, I’d like to bring attention to the problem of “doom scrolling” and the harmful influence of bad news on our digital lives.
Modern technology, particularly smartphones, is allowing us to interact in ways that were previously imagined. In human history, the amount of knowledge that can be accessible from the palm of our hand is unparalleled. As a result, when a significant event occurs someplace, news travels like wildfire.
However, it is normal to desire to know what is going on. To make better judgments, we just need to know what is going on in the world. Unfortunately, the electronic environment in which we seek information may be detrimental to our mental health and make burnout more likely.
We read the news for several hours each day. After all, Google Feed is just a swipe away, Facebook is ideal for protracted debates, and Twitter is a wonderful source of unfiltered, uncurated news. The amount of knowledge available to a modern user via the internet is virtually endless. And categorizing and putting this information into perspective takes a lot of effort on our part.
Content makers are well aware of this and prioritize providing the most up-to-date news over fact-checking, using clickbait headlines to elicit the anticipation mechanisms that, although increasing our stress levels, make us want to absorb even more information on a topic. Even though 72 percent of consumers know that the media may be exaggerating the news, the problem remains, according to the same study.
You may follow certain news reading best practices, such as being mindful of the information you consume, avoiding news reading before bedtime, balancing positive and negative stories, and reading a wide range of topics.
