IS THE NEWS TOO DEPRESSING?

News avoidance has doubled in the last five years. Alice Wade finds out why, and how a positive approach is offering editors a solution

No news is good news, or so the saying goes. Given the current state of, well, everything — a pandemic, the war in Europe, and a cost-of-living crisis — it seems the old adage’s time has come. According to the Reuters Digital News Report (2022), the number of people avoiding the news has doubled in the last fve years. The study attributes the change to the increasingly depressing nature of the news, as well as the sheer abundance of negative content and the frequency with which it appears.

Almost half of those surveyed for the report said they were put off by the repetitiveness of news, especially around topics like covid-19 and politics. A further 29 per cent said they were worn out by news and 36 per cent of under 35s said the news brings their mood down.

This move away from bad news consumption has provoked some media brands to take a different approach, focusing on positives and possible solutions.

Nick Newman, who led the Reuters report, says there are two types of news avoiders. Selective news avoiders, who are interested in news but will cut back when they feel overwhelmed, and consistent news avoiders who say they avoid news entirely.

According to Ruth Palmer, Professor of Communication at IE University, it’s the total avoidance of news that is most concerning, because of its implications on the democratic functioning of society. The less informed people are, the less likely they are to engage politically and to vote. She fears this decline in information could lead to a fracturing of democracy; leaving people uninformed, and entrenching preconceived beliefs. “If people aren’t consuming news at all, they’re less likely to be operating from the basis of facts and information [which] could contribute to polarisation.”

A generation ago, people received information in manageable chunks over the course of the day, catching it on morning TV, or reading it in the paper. Now, because of social media, “people can’t get away from it”, says Newman. Not only are we confronted with more news, but the sources we get it from are over saturated.

Another complaint is that avoiders feel overwhelmed and powerless in bad times. “People don’t see a way they can take action to make a difference regarding depressing topics,” says Palmer. It’s this perceived powerlessness that’s resulting in an increasing disillusionment with news.

The media have responded with uplifting stories and ‘solution’ journalism. Some have even implemented toggles that allow readers to sift out depressing news. Last year PinkNews launched a new feature called ‘the uplifting news flter’. The flter allows readers to sift out negative stories, offering them cheerier news. Chief Product Offcer, Sarah Watson says: “There are times when people need a pick-me-up and since PinkNews reports on many positive stories from around the globe, we wanted to give our audience control over their experience so they didn’t have to switch off.”

Though the feature is currently only available on IOS and Android, the response so far has been promising. Since launching the feature, engagement has risen from seven to twelve minutes and the app store rating has risen from 4.2 to 4.6 out of fve.

For selective news avoiders, a greater sense of control might help draw them back in periods of withdrawal, but for total avoiders, it is less likely to work. “I don’t think this is what people are looking for, but I do think that people want more control, especially in news alerts,” says Newman. Methods like these are unlikely to generate serious change with those who are completely disengaged since consistent avoiders won’t even discover the toggle Palmer agrees that personalisation could be useful in engaging selective news avoiders, saying: “It allows people to access news without it feeling costly. If someone fnds it incredibly emotionally draining, there is a way for them to stay informed without having to feel so sapped.” Nevertheless, she says no matter how hard content is tweaked, “it’s not going to do any good for consistent avoiders”.

One response to this shift is to change the tone of news. Ashifa Kassam, freelance journalist and contributor to The Guardian’s ‘Upside’, a section that focuses on telling positive and uplifting stories, believes there is a growing appetite for positive news and ‘solution’ journalism. Many people avoid the news “because it’s become too depressing,” she explains. “We’re so conscious of the fact that these stories affect mental health and we don’t want readers to turn off,” she adds.

Positive News, which focuses on what’s going right in the world, offers uplifting content and solutions to negative stories. Sean Wood, chief executive, wants to “give people a way of seeing and engaging with the world that doesn’t harm their wellbeing, instead leaving them feeling empowered to respond.”

Wood emphasises the need for a constructive feedback mechanism that “allows society to self-correct” rather than disempowering people with an echochamber of hopeless news. “We need to continue to report problems, but we need to stop ignoring progress and solutions.”

He explains that the appetite for ‘solution’ content is growing, and that Positive News has seen this refected in its audience. “People are waking up to the negative impacts of negative news consumption and changing their media diets to support their wellbeing.”

Looking forward, Palmer argues “what’s going to work best is a mix of news”, emphasising the need for a good balance. People are growing impatient with what they see as a “bombardment” of depressing news. “People don’t want something completely different, they just don’t want everything to be so negative. Experimenting with different ways to deliver less negative news is important, it’s going to require a shift in what we see as traditional values.”