At first, I wondered if it was just me. Being a news junkie since childhood, I found myself tuning out and turning off news programs this past year. Then, I started to check with friends and researched this topic. ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s clear that many people in the U.S. and around the world have found that in this age of never-ending and always breaking disastrous news, thereÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a desire to avoid the newsÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ barrage of wars, death, natural disasters, political intrigue, economic doomsdays and more.
A cartoon in ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œPearls and Swine,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ which appeared in this newspaper recently, is evidence that millions of people can relate to the overload of dreadful news. In the first cartoon panel, Rat, a character, says to Pig, another character, who is posing as a wise guru, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m constantly depressed by the news of the world.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Pig responds, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIs that so?ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œYes,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ says Rat, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œBut then I think prior generations had the news. But they were tough, and they got through it.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Pig responds, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œPrior generations got one half hour of news a day.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
That cartoon is accurate. When young, I remember waiting for my father to bring home a newspaper, which had all the news that we would be exposed to that day. When we moved to Huntington in 1976, we subscribed to both The Herald-Dispatch, the morning paper, and The Huntington Advertiser in the evening. That sufficed for both national and local news. I donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t recall regularly tuning in to the 6 oÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™clock news because that conflicted with dinner hour, and we were too tired for the 11 p.m. edition. Of course, that was back before there were 5:30, 5:00 and 4:30 editions and a 24/7 news channels.
Pew Research Center has noted that Americans now have different news ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œconsumption habits and news fatigueÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ as well as declining trust in media. People under 60 have little interest in or allegiance to print news. Accuracy is secondary to convenience and entertainment. TikTok, run by the Chinese, is seen as a trusted news source by young Americans.
Those of us who grew up in the mid-20th century respected news reporters and journalists. People my age fondly remember Walter Cronkite, who worked for CBS-TV for decades and was voted the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œmost trusted man in America.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Highlighting negative news is old. The adage ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIf it bleeds, it leadsÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ says much about current news and is attributed to William Randolph HearstÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s effort to make his newspaper dominant in the 1890s. Studies have shown that people pay more attention to negative news, sexual peccadilloes and gruesome bloody stories than positive events.
Reuters Institute of Journalism noted that in 2015, 67% of people reported high level of interest in the news, but recent figures are just under 50% and more than a third say that they avoid news when possible. The American Psychological Association reports that 60% of people feel increasing anxiety related to negative news.
Those who use electronic communication devices cannot easily avoid the news. Recently, the first morning screen on my cell phone reported a dreadful weather disaster, a major traffic accident, a shooting in a local neighborhood, war atrocities and more anxiety-producing news. In this age of hyper-news, itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s no wonder that millions of people are news aversive.
Diane W. Mufson is a retired psychologist and a regular contributor to The Herald Dispatch Opinion page.
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