Does news warp the mind? Our brains evolved to pay attention to threats, but we are constantly bombarded by negative stories. The 24/7 news cycle might be distorting our vision of reality.
How too much news can mess with your head
Does news warp the mind? Our brains evolved to pay attention to threats, but we are constantly bombarded by negative stories. The 24/7 news cycle might be distorting our vision of reality.
The number of cases keeps going up. Millions will be forced into poverty. Presidents brag about taking dangerous medications.
If you based your vision of the world solely on what you read in the news, then you would have a pretty poor picture of humanity.
Even before the current pandemic, the news depicted life as a series of celebrity scandals, terrorist attacks and politicians telling lies.
During a time of high stress - like the global outbreak of a deadly virus - it is natural to seek out information that might help keep us alive. Experts say that reading the news allows us to feel in control, when the world feels especially chaotic.
Chinese researchers have found those who felt knowledgeable about Covid-19 "can better shield their emotional well-being" regardless of whether, in fact, they did know more than others.
But understanding something that baffles many health experts is difficult, so we often look for shortcuts - explanations that seem too good to be true, and often are.
David Icke, a former Hereford United goalkeeper who believes that lizards run the world, has said that 5G masts cause Covid-19. The actor Woody Harrelson and the boxer Amir Khan also helped spread this conspiracy theoryAn explanation for a phenomenon that centres around the actions of sinister, shadowy groups, where an absence of evidence can be interpreted as evidence of its truth. .
Yet even without falling for fake news, current affairs can hurt us.
A recent study found that after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, those who suffered from the most stress were neither those who witnessed the explosion, nor those who knew someone who died. It was those who watched the news for at least six hours each day after the attack.
We have evolved to notice threats so that we can avoid them. This negativity bias means that worrying stories always have a stronger pull on us than happy ones.
"There are advantages to being an animal that prioritises negative information," says Stuart Soroka, a University of Michigan professor. "We are living, and always have lived, in a very information-rich environment. We can't pay attention to everything."
Having a vocal and active press is also a central aspect of a modern democratic society. How else will you hold the powerful to account?
As the writer Paul Hiebert points out, "Bad news is actually good news because it shows society still cares when bad people do bad things."
So, does news really warp the mind?
Yes. By reinforcing our existing beliefs in echo chambers or by overwhelming us with negative stories, the news provides us with an inaccurate image of the world and twists the way that our minds work. As thinkers like Steven Pinker remind us, the world is actually healthier and more peaceful than ever. If the news is helping you understand a situation, it is good for you. If not, you can look away.
No. So long as you aren't falling for fake news, what is being reported is still true. If you learn to tell the difference between propaganda and journalism, then the news is still the best guide to making sense of a complex and fast-changing world. We need good reporting now more than ever. Think of how even more dangerous the coronavirus would have seemed had the media not been there to warn us about it.
Keywords
Conspiracy theory - An explanation for a phenomenon that centres around the actions of sinister, shadowy groups, where an absence of evidence can be interpreted as evidence of its truth.
How too much news can mess with your head
Glossary
Conspiracy theory - An explanation for a phenomenon that centres around the actions of sinister, shadowy groups, where an absence of evidence can be interpreted as evidence of its truth.