NEGATIVE NEWS AND MENTAL HEALTH:

Just in the past few days I have seen the tragically important photo of the father and daughter laying dead in the wetland as they tried to cross the border to safety. I have "witnessed" this tragedy more than 25 times during the past 3 days. It is, in fact, impossible to turn on the television without being attacked by this disaster.
It is predictable that this consistent news of violence has a negative affect on emotions. Our research tells us that our "negativity bias" initially coaches us to watch news that is threatening and dangerous. The networks are well aware that this kind of assault "sells" air time. I can recall workig at a Detroit television station where the understanding was that "If it bleeds, it leads."
Many of us will react to this onslaught with increased depression, stress and sympathetic post traumatic stress symptoms. We may be likely to see our own stories as more threatening.
Images like the significantly tragic one of the deceased father and daughter can easily change our over mood so that we are more sad and more tense. Some of us will become more sensitive to tragedy and others may become more numb. "Oh, I have seen this kind of thing before. What else is on TV tonight? Any good movies?"
We need more positive news to characterize human life and to outweigh the tragedies to which we are exposed on a daily basis. We need more positive lifestyles and consequent news to inform us as our quality of life can improve. In a recent Ted Talk Sean Degan stated that "A more positive form of journalism will not only benefit our well-being; it will engage us in society and it will help catalyze potential solutions to the problems that we face."

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