Impact of negative news on your mental health & how to deal with it

Why do we pay attention to negative news, more than positive news?

We often say that we prefer good news over bad, but is it actually true?
Human beings evolutionarily pay more attention to or are attracted to negative information. The root cause of this is quite simple – the potential cost of negative information outweighs the potential benefits of positive information. Simply put, bad news could be a sign that we need to prepare for danger. We have also evolved to react quickly to potential threats, hence, the attraction for click baits or views on social media.

This is what is called negativity bias, which is the tendency to attend to, learn from and use negative information far more than positive information.

Along with our tendency to find and read more bad news, negativity bias can explain why –

• We recall and think about insults more than compliments
• We respond more – emotionally (anxiety) and physically (high heart rate) to negativity
• We focus more on negative information than on positive information

Did you know?
From 2016 to 2019, Facebook gave “anger” emoji reactions to posts, five times as much weight as “likes” in deciding which posts to show other users because their machine learning algorithm found posts that angered people fueled more engagement than posts that pleased them.

(Source: Five points for anger, one for ‘like’: How Facebook’s formula fostered rage and misinformation, The Washington Post)

Be aware of what we are consuming

• Understand the media agenda. Negative news provokes stronger reactions and garners more attention than positive or neutral news. (Source: Peeters & Czapinski, 1990).
• Recognise the distorted view the media presents. In today’s world, news no longer just brings straightforward, impartial facts. It is now portrayed and presented as an opinion or a point of view with exaggerated graphics and tone to make it sound sensational and emotional.

Impact of negative news on our wellbeing

When we watch upsetting or bad news, our bodies react by releasing stress hormones to deal with the negative emotions. Feelings of worry, sadness, helplessness and grief takes over. This might seem momentary, but the constant stream of watching negative news can create long-term negative effects on our wellbeing like anxiety, depression, mood swings, aggressive behaviour and can even increase the chance of heart attack later in life. (Source: Johnston & Davey, 2011).

What can we do to overcome the bias and consume news healthily?
Set screen time

• Set a limit on how much news you’ll consume each day.
• Schedule media-free blocks of time every day or check news at one or two set times per day.

Rethink your news source

• Good news reporting is focused on the truth, with verified facts and accurate context.
• It is impartial, independent & hold themselves accountable for errors.

Understand your feelings

• If a certain piece of information keeps popping up and leaves you feeling upset or unhelpful, you can unfollow or block them.
• Sometimes, world news can hit close to home. For instance, a tragedy of a person you really admire can feel very personal. Talk to someone close to you or a counsellor about how it’s affecting you.

Have “no news” time with loved ones

• A change of topic and environment with friends and family can drastically uplift your mood and increase the ability to bounce back from negative feelings.
• Tell your loved ones that you want to avoid talking about news or current affairs.

Accept & focus on what you can control

• Learning to understand how much we can control, can reduce the amount of stress we feel on hearing or watching bad news.
• Try and ask yourself, “Can I do something about this?” If you can, take the necessary steps, but also accept the limitations of the situation.