Good News, Bad News: Considering A Way to Unfollow the News
By Miklos Hargitay, PhD
My favorite news apps are New York Times, NPR and the Washington Post. Every time I open them and flip through relevant and irrelevant articles, I find myself feeling pulled to stay on the app. Then I notice that I’m being sucked into the app and will close it, only to be tempted to open it over again. It is almost as if I am “waiting” for the next disaster or breaking news, and that I have to learn everything there is to know about it. But am I learning anything new and is it important for me to know in the first place?
The 24-hour news cycle
Excessive consumption and use of news apps to understand what is happening in the world is nothing new, but it feels particularly rampant over the past two or more years. Whether it is related to COVID, politics, socio-cultural trends, or more, there is so much to digest and most of what comes through to our phones is not positive. As a psychologist, I am interested in both the cognitive load, or mental weight, that can be carried when we are constantly tethered to news content and the effect that such a tether can have on our view of ourselves, others, and the world. In my professional work, patients will often report feeling as if the world is falling apart or that there is a sense of hopelessness, making it difficult to see the point of making an effort. More than one patient of mine has half-joked that they do not want to look at their phone, for fear of learning “what else has happened today.”
The bad news: too much news can harm mental health
The rise and fall of our nervous systems in response to what we are reading is not having a positive impact on ourselves and research has demonstrated as such. A 2020 article by Stainback, Hearne, and Trieu found a positive correlation between increased COVID media exposure and heightened anxiety and psychological distress. In other words, the more you read about COVID, the more likely you are to feel concerned and worried in general.
Researchers studying the connection between news consumption and emotional wellbeing have noted consistent, and even prolonged spikes in a reader’s distress in the wake of national tragedy, such as the Boston Marathon bombing or 9/11 (de Hoog & Verboon 2020). Given how turbulent COVID news coverage has been since late 2019, a similar effect may be happening now. These same researchers found that negative news is associated with increased negative affect and decreased positive affect, particularly when the news has “personal relevance”. This means that seeing or hearing negative news often also means feeling depressive and anxious symptoms, especially when you believe the news affects your daily life. While sometimes it seems like the news “happens” across the world or to someone else - COVID has literally brought the news to our own doorsteps for over two years. It is hard to imagine that anyone’s mental health has gone unaffected.
Defining the relationship you have with the news
Which leads me to wonder; is it that important to be this connected to what is happening in the world? Perhaps it is valuable to be well informed, but it is clear the quantity of content and the way we access news content may be causing more harm than good. Before considering any changes, I would suggest you reflect on what makes sense for you and what behavior changes are workable. After that, consider the following suggestions.
1. Use an app timer.
Both iOS and Android have timers that will only allow you to use an app for a specific time each day. Once that timer has passed, the app is no longer usable until it resets. It can be worked around if someone manually changes the timer settings. This suggestion can be helpful for those of us who open apps on autopilot and find more time than we want passing by.
2. Consider whether you’re getting “diminishing returns” when you open your favorite news app.
If you’re opening your news app multiple times a day, it is unlikely you are getting new content every time, meaning that you may be spending more time on an app with less gain. Ask yourself intermittently if you are spending your time wisely.
3. Find non-news related apps to spend your time.
I recently started playing Crossword on my phone and have noticed a decrease in my usage of news apps over time. While I am still accessing news apps, I do so to read an article, not just scrolling for the sake of perusing.
4. Play with your notification settings.
Do you really need all those news notifications? If not, try opting out. You may find yourself not pulled to news apps as much.
5. Practice mindful reading.
Being on our phones can easily take us out of the moment, making it hard for us to focus on what is happening around us. If you are pulling out the phone at times when you should be engaging with others or your work, noticing that can be especially clarifying. Taking a second to notice what you’re doing (e.g., “I’m noticing I’m pulling my phone out of my pocket, opening it, and clicking on this app”), may help with undermining the automaticity of the experience.
6. (Try) to find some faith in humanity.
The not so good news you are reading may very well be true. That being said, we forget that just because good news does not get as much attention (e.g., “if it bleeds, it leads”) does not mean that it’s not happening. Coping after reading a difficult article might include balancing it out by finding specific news sources that offer good news or news stories where hopeful solutions are being applied to tough problems (e.g., reddit has an r/upliftingnews subreddit, the Solutions Story Tracker at https://storytracker.solutionsjournalism.org/ ). Or try reaching out to friends and family to touch base with them.
Finally, as a news junkie to other news junkies, I can understand that this may be tough. But, it is possible to be well informed without finding yourself being swept up in every breaking news story. Read responsibly.
About the Author: Dr. Miklos Hargitay is a clinical psychologist and a news junkie who likes to read articles on his phone. He has also been a practicing meditator for 5 years.
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