ARTWORK: Sian Williams
BREAKING (the) NEWS Angus Padley There is a new drug out on the market which is causing ‘a misperception of risk, anxiety, lower mood levels, learned helplessness, contempt and hostility towards others, and desensitisation’ — Jodie Jackson, 2016. This drug is consumed on average by 80% of adults in Western countries each day and is more popular than alcohol or even caffeine. This drug is subsidised and legally protected by many governments, and can be tailormade and delivered on a mass scale to anyone with a social media account. This drug is the news. Although many of us may be aware of the dangers of fake news, new research suggests that even true news can be dangerous, especially for our mental health. The vast majority of news seen online or on TV focuses on negative, sensational, and attentiongrabbing stories. This focus distorts our view of humanity and causes us to believe that the world is a far worse place than what most statistics would suggest. Mainstream news is suffering from a deficit of perspective. The truth matters, but the truth can be harmful if we are not given the full picture.
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