We're drawn to bad news more than good, says well-being writer Lisa Fouweather

Are we all pessimists, or is there a deeper reason behind our 'obsession' with the doom and gloom of the daily news?

If you’ve ever found yourself being more drawn to the ‘doom and gloom’ stories in the news, then you’re not alone.

Running deeper than just being a pessimist/viewing the world from a ‘glass half empty’ (or, a ‘glass nowhere in sight’, even) perspective, our so-called ‘negativity bias’ (i.e. incessant pull of the old ‘doom scroll’), has a scientific explanation behind it.

Drawn To The Bad News

Where two stories are being ran simultaneously, one covering an armed robbery involving the theft of charity collection boxes, the other covering the charity fundraising efforts of a group of teenagers, the former - the theft (i.e. the negative news story) will capture the most attention.

Why? Because the repercussions of a local armed robbery poses a potential threat:

Are they still on the run?

Who will they target next?

Will they target us next?

Unlike the group of teenagers raising money for charity, while a nice, heart-warming story, it garners far less attention due to the lack of threat it poses, and therefore, perhaps selfishly, we’re less likely to pay attention to it, because it’s unlikely to have any impact on our own lives.

And so, we’re not being negative for the sake of being negative. We’re not killjoys who get some sort of perverse ‘kick’ out of hearing about the misfortune of others, (unless you’re talking to a sociopath), we’re just following our instincts that are hardwired into our psyche.

A ‘Survival Instinct’

Regardless of how much we put ourselves on a ‘pedestal’, viewing ourselves, humans, as the ‘superior’ species, the fact is that we are animals. And, as animals, we are wired to focus on the negative for survival - doing so has evolutionary benefits. As such, bad news tends to grab our attention more easily, and we tend to remember negative information more so than we remember positive information, owing to us being more likely to pay attention when it is presented to us (again, as a ‘survival instinct’, almost).

This therefore explains why negative news stories are likely to sell more papers/generate more coverage/be ‘better received’ than positive news stories, because we are conditioned to seek out the bad for our safety.

The Role Of The Media

Although the existence of a negativity bias is undoubtable, something biological as much as psychological that we have all evolved to have, the role that the media plays in perpetuating our ‘need’ to seek out the negative in life cannot be overlooked.

Where clickbait headlines and sensationalism are rife, media outlets, the CEO’s of which recognise the very real existence of the negativity bias, can be said to exploit this. In knowing that negative news captures our attention, collectively, more than positive news does, in order to sell more papers, to generate greater coverage of their stories, the media exaggerates certain things/‘stretches the truth’, if you will...

An example, last week when I was doing some research for an article I was writing, a ‘breaking news’ banner popped up on the website I was on (The Daily Express), informing me that ‘World War 3 is coming.’*

*Now, if this were true, if world war three really was coming, then firstly, it would be all over every (reputable) news outlet - it would be breaking news when you switched on the TV, everyone, everywhere would be talking about it. Rationally I knew this, and I knew that it was ‘probably’ just a clickbait headline, but still, I clicked on the article, and wasted 5 minutes of my life reading what was basically just, ‘World war three may, or may not, come in the future.’

No news at all, but the negative headline, the prospect of war, made me read the full article anyway, ‘just in case.’

Had the headline captured what the article was actually saying, ‘we have no evidence at all of world war three happening. It may or may not happen in the future, but there is certainly no sign of it happening any time soon’, then would I have clicked on it?

No. But the ‘breaking news’ banner coupled with the urgent nature of the headline, well, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who wouldn’t click on that. And so, the media knows exactly what they’re doing.

As the old journalistic adage ‘if it bleeds, it leads’ points to, the ‘hard stuff’ sells, and so the ‘hard’, negative stuff is what is going to be shown to us...

Don’t Lose Sight Of The Good

With so much negativity in the news, refraining from internalising that negativity can be difficult, especially if you’re quite a sensitive person/an empath. Writing from personal experience, I know that the consumption of too much ‘bad’ news can have an impact upon my own mental health.

For example, a few weeks ago, in writing about the horrors that are happening in Palestine, I found that, despite being thousands of miles away from the Gaza/Israel conflict, I was affected by it, a result of the negative content I was consuming and making seeping into my mindset, causing me to view the world in its entirety as negative.

However, in realising that the reason why there is so much negativity in the news is solely because that’s what generates the most profit, not because that’s all there is- I was able to retain my hope in humanity, acknowledging that there is actually far more good than evil in the world, and that the media isn’t an accurate representation because, again, negativity sells, so negative news will always be prioritised over positive news.

It’s Not All Doom & Gloom

The good news though (literally and metaphorically), is that there is good news, and that you can find it.

Where the mainstream/mass media is imposed on us, with what we see dictated to us by an editor who has curated the most profitable stories (which will overwhelmingly be of the negative, ‘doom and gloom’ variety), social media is ours to curate for ourselves, via the algorithm.

The way the algorithm works is by ‘picking up what we’re putting down.’ In other words, it tracks our online activity and, based on what we interact with, recommends relevant news to us.

For example, if you’re thinking about getting your haircut, and have spent time looking at different styles on Pinterest, then the next time you go on Pinterest, your feed is likely to contain lots of hairstyle inspiration.

And the same applies to all social media sites. Instagram’s ‘explore’ page, TikTok’s, ‘for you’ page (see, it’s literally called a ‘for you’ page- because it’s just that- for you.

Unlike BBC news for example, where the feed is unchanging- everyone is fed the same, very selected, news stories of the day, TikTok, Instagram,

Pinterest, whatever your social media of choice, is very much individualised, unique to each person.

We are not dictated the news by someone else, we curate the news for ourselves).

Although this provides much cause for praise, it doesn’t go without criticism though, particularly, for example, in the context of ‘promoting mental illness.’

The Dark Side Of The Algorithm

In 2017, British teenager, 14-year-old Molly Russell, ended her own life after what her family say was a direct result of ‘the negative effects of online content.’

A charity, The Molly Rose Foundation, was subsequently founded by Molly’s family in the months following her death, to raise greater awareness of the dangers of social media on young minds.

A report published by the charity last month highlights how, on TikTok, some of the most viewed posts that reference suicide, self-harm and highly depressive content, have been viewed and liked over 1 million times. Why? Due to the algorithm.

If you’re depressed and interacting with depressing content, then that is what will keep being recommended to you, and thus you will keep seeing it.

Although the algorithm is great at giving us all access to the things which most interest us, when those interests are coming from a place of being mentally unwell, this is where the danger lies, hence why there are calls to ban such content.

Ultimately though, the fact is that the algorithm itself is not ‘wrong’, but the people who are making content that glorifies mental illness, and the social media platforms that are failing to regulate harmful content is . This is what needs to change- the banning of certain hashtags, not the banning of the algorithm.

Where the algorithm is just an accumulation of the content that we interact with the most, the basic fact is that if you want more positive news blessing your ‘gram, then, quite simply, you just need to interact with more positive content.

(If you ever needed an excuse to watch videos of puppies playing, then this is it)!

Follow accounts that bring you joy, that remind you that there is still good in the world.

And, remind yourself of this, too. Never forget that there is far more good than evil in the world, despite what the mainstream media would have you believe for the sake of their revenue.

A World Exists Outside Of Your Phone, & It Is Beautiful

Not only should you aim to change what you’re viewing on your phone, but you should also aim to change how much time you spend on your phone in general, with this, reduced screen time, being something which I think we could all benefit from.

Upon putting your phone down and stepping foot out into the ‘real’ world, you might just be surprised by what you find... Because, when the news serves to convince us that we are ‘lacking’ in everything, that there is more bad than good in the world, going for a walk, being greeted by complete strangers, all kind eyes and smiles, even just something as simple as this can be the reminder that we all need- a reminder that the world is not one of inherent pain and suffering, that there is still so much good in it, and that, even when it takes a little bit more effort to seek it out, the goodness is still there, as it always has been, and always will be, for there is always, always hope in humanity.

Even when it is seemingly non-existent, the hope resides – always.

May you never lose sight of that fact.