There’s no question that watching the news is a sure-fire way to elevate your stress level. But while the nightly news has always focused on sensational events—fires and crimes—it used to be mostly limited to an hour per night and a Sunday paper. We now live in a 24/7 news environment where cable television and social media add an endless stream of information—much of it upsetting—into our consciousness. There’s even a new term, doomscrolling, to describe “the tendency to continue to surf or scroll through bad news, even though that news is saddening, disheartening, or depressing.”
It’s taking a toll. Friends and families are fracturing over political disagreements, people of all ages are experiencing anxiety over the climate, wars, and international instability, and many of us are carrying stress beyond the news and into our broader lives.
Bryan McLaughlin, PhD, associate Professor in the College of Media & Communication at Texas Tech University, took a scientific approach to understanding how the news affects us, and shared his findings with Bottom Line Health. He notes that our endless supply of bad news can cause a “constant state of high alert” that makes the world seem like a “dark and dangerous place.” He and his team surveyed 1,100 American adults and asked them questions about their news consumption habits, their stress and anxiety, and their physical health.
About 17 percent of respondents reported what the researchers called problematic news consumption, which encompasses five attributes:
- People with problematic news consumption tend to get fully immersed in the news. They feel emotionally and mentally involved, as if it’s happening directly to them.
- They tend to become preoccupied with the news. They can’t stop thinking about it.
- They feel a compulsion to keep up with the news and have a difficult time breaking away from news sources.
- They also report feeling like consuming more news might make them feel better.
- Their news habit interferes with other parts of their lives. They may have a hard time focusing at work or find themselves distracted when spending time with their family and friends.
About 27 percent of survey respondents reported moderately problematic levels of news consumption, 28 percent were minimally impacted and 29 percent experienced no problems.
Among those with severely problematic consumption levels, 74 percent reported mental health problems, such as stress and anxiety, compared with 8 percent of the other groups. And 61 percent reported physical ailments—compared with just 6 percent of respondents in the other groups. Those ailments included high rates of back and neck pain as well as gastrointestinal issues. Chronic stress is associated with muscle tension, digestive problems, headaches, trouble sleeping, heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.
What to do
You don’t have to tune out to break the news’ hold over your health. But some simple practices can help you find the right balance so you can stay informed without staying stressed.
- Pay attention to your habits. Do you check the news as soon as you wake up? Look at your phone all day? What are you missing out on because of your time spent consuming news? It’s important to know what’s going on in the world, but you don’t need constant updates. Limit yourself to a set amount of time to dedicate to news, and don’t exceed it. Consider limits such as not reading the news in bed or waiting until after breakfast. There’s no right or wrong way to limit your news: The objective is to not let it take over your life.
- Notice how you feel. Do you feel stressed, anxious, or angry when consuming news? Do you feel better or worse than before you started checking the news? Understanding how you relate to the news can help you understand yourself and choose the kinds of changes that will most benefit you.
- Keep the news in perspective. Many people worry about things that will never affect them personally. It’s easy to be stressed and anxious about wars in other countries, natural disasters, or far-away crimes, but it can help to remind yourself that not everything in the news affects you personally.
- Be aware of some psychological principles. From a primal survival standpoint, our brains are wired to pay more attention to threats—is that tiger going to eat me?—than to pleasantries—what a lovely sunset! In today’s world, that means we have a bias toward negative news sources (the negativity bias), even though they don’t benefit our survival. All people are also subject to the confirmation bias: We tend to favor information that supports existing beliefs. That can influence both the type and sources of news we consume.
- Be aware of trolls and bots. If you get a lot of news from social media, it’s important to remember that there are many bad actors, from humans who are intentionally trying to stir division and anger to computer bots that are spitting out scripts. These may be foreign actors, mischievous teens, or random strangers who enjoy arguing. Engaging only increases stress.
- Focus on what you can control. Try not to fixate on things that are outside of your control. Can the news you are consuming help you plan for the future in a concrete way or is it just creating negativity?
- Practice mindfulness. Are you missing the small joys of life because all of your focus is on the news? The little things in life that gives us small bits of happiness and calmness are important for overall balance. Pay attention to what is going on around you in “real life” and replace news time with healthy activities like socializing with friends and family or exercising.
- Think about what triggers you to doomscroll. Pay attention to when you reach for your news source. Is it when you are bored? Stressed? Feeling overwhelmed? Look for ways to address those feelings more directly.
