The news is bad for you. It is bad for your mental health. There are any number of studies that demonstrate that too much exposure to the “news” is not good for us, so why do we continue to watch and to listen to the endless parade of negativity that is broadcast daily?

 

People have been brought up to believe that the news is educational. If you don’t know what’s happening then you are ignorant and ill informed. But is that honestly true of the pastiche of sports results and celebrity gossip, coupled with horror stories that make up the bulk of most broadcasts these days? So why do we REALLY follow the news?

 

Biologically, we are programmed for survival. We are conditioned to notice subtle changes in our environment that represent threats to our well being. These are the same instincts that make lions look for the weakest zebra in the herd, cats to dispose of kittens that are failing to thrive, and sheep to shun the lamb that smells different from the rest.

 

The news appeals to our instinct to seek out the abnormal.  We hear about the one person who didn’t make it safely to work, not the 99,999 who got there just fine. It’s “news” when someone shoots their school mates, but the millions who had a great day never get a mention. As a result we get a distorted view of reality, our “noticing” responses go into overload, and we form the view that the world is a dangerous and sinister place.

 

If you MUST follow “the news,” then restrict your “intake” just as you would a food that isn’t very good for you. Listen to one radio broadcast, but don’t also read the paper and watch it on TV. If you watch the TV news, just consume one serving per day, don’t make a banquet of it. You’ll feel better for it – promise!