Photo by Mohamed Nohassi for Unsplash +
It comes up in nearly every gathering of friends these days. How do you keep up with the overwhelming, nonstop barrage of alarming news without losing your mind?
As a conscientious citizen, you know you need to be aware of what’s happening in the nation and the world. Yet being inundated with angering or shocking or unprecedented new developments adds an undercurrent of Stress to your life that can’t be healthy.
It was simpler when we were growing up. News was presented in regular, predictable doses. You watched the 6 o’clock news and perhaps the 11 o’clock news, and you read a daily newspaper. On rare occasions your day might be interrupted by news bulletins, but those were only for events of the highest magnitude, such as an approaching tornado or an assassination.
But those good old days aren’t returning any time soon, so let’s look at what is and see what we can do about it.
From my own conversations, research, and rumination, I have concluded the cause of our collective “news fatigue” is the intersection of three factors.
One is the radical media shift from mass appeal to smaller, targeted audiences. This has been a gradual evolution over decades. The newspaper business model was based on reaching a large – and therefore general – audience. In their infancy, radio and television followed suit. Then radio stations began to differentiate by different musical genres, and cable television raised the viewing choices from three to infinity. The internet developed in the targeted media era, so that users can select from a smorgasbord of content according to their personal taste.
As a result, news pours out from multiple sources, and it’s also targeted to narrow segments. You can pick whether to take your news slanted left, slanted right, for the religious or the hedonists. News is a cacophony, and you get to choose which voices to believe.
The second factor is social media, a 21st century phenomenon that offers opportunities for long-distance connections – along with a continuous stream of updates, commercial messages, and random bits to titillate and tempt and drive us to distraction.
Social media is deliberately designed to grab your attention and hold it as long as possible. “Infinite scrolls, autoplay videos and algorithmic recommendations keep users engaged longer than intended,” says psychologist Donna L. Roberts.
“Social media platforms play on the fear of missing out,” says Heesoo Jang, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina who researches the intersection of politics and digital Technology. “There are trending keywords, hashtags and challenges,” all with short lifespans, and if you are away from social media, “you miss out.” He notes that you can keep scrolling on TikTok or Instagram and never run out of content – a design feature to give the impression there is always more content to drink in.
The third factor is also by design. It is the political tactic known as “flooding the zone.” Making full use of the first two factors, the Trump Administration overwhelms the media and political opponents “by creating an overload of information and controversy” that prevents the opposition, and the public, from clearly discerning what is happening, says Zsolt Kapelner, a research fellow at the University of Oslo. “The result is exhaustion, fatigue, and inadequate or non-existent political responses.”
We are certainly feeling the exhaustion and fatigue.
“Repetitive and even near-constant exposure to stressful events, especially those beyond our control, can lead to feelings of hopelessness and Depression,” says Dr. Robert Bright, a psychologist at the Mayo Clinic. Some people react by feeling discouraged about the possibility of making change. Others, he says, feel a motivation to improve the world and make it better.
What can we do about the firehose of incessant stimulation pounding on our nervous systems? How can we cope without surrendering to depression, anger, or Anxiety?
One approach is to limit your exposure to news. You could check the news only at certain times, for example, or set a timer when you start viewing social media to signal when it’s time to step away. If you’re having trouble falling asleep at night, don’t let news overwhelm you late at night.
Another is to be more strategic, especially on social media. Instead of “doomscrolling,” which passively allows content to reach you, proactively focus on a few topics that interest you and search exclusively for news about them.
While it’s not ideal to gather news only from sources that confirm your own views, it may be necessary for your Mental Health to unfollow social media accounts that bombard you with scary headlines. Another tip: turn off the news when anchors or guest “Experts” begin speculating on what might happen, rather than reporting what has happened. That’s not news, just one “expert’s” commentary.
If you find your social media habits are approaching obsessive or addictive behavior, consider taking a digital detox. That doesn’t necessarily mean abstinence, but it could mean more self-discipline, perhaps paired with alternative activities such as Exercise, face-to-face engagement, or mindfulness practices. “A digital detox is less about rejecting technology and more about using it intentionally,” says Roberts. “The goal is to shift from mindless scrolling to mindful engagement.”
It’s not easy to break out of the cycle of endless shock and awe. It takes focus and discipline. But as we used to say back in the day, “Illegitimi non carborundum.” Don’t let the bastards grind you down.
