In the past year, media houses have been extensively covering negative events. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has created misery across the world. Heavy death rates and constant rise in the number of cases were reported by news channels which created a lot of distress for the general public.
A meta-analytic review by Roy et al. (2020) on the mental health implications of Covid-19 on Indians suggested that people suffered from mental health issues like anxiety, insomnia, and fear. The negative news added to the intensity of such issues. Understandably, people followed the news events to stay updated. However, unknowingly a lot of negativity was consumed in the process of watching the news and many people vicariously imbibed negative emotions during this phase. Furthermore, the principle of negativity bias suggests that negative events tend to have a greater influence on the psyche of an individual more strongly as compared to positive events.
Digital news has been playing an influential role in impacting mental health as well. Constant alerts on the phone keep people in direct contact with the outside world every second. News has become a part of our daily existence which is in the form of visual images and eye-catching headlines. In this trending phase of click-bait, the greater the appeal of an image, which may be graphic, and the more attractive the headline, the more it can garner attention. According to David Altheide, a famous sociologist & author, media houses tend to convey emotions like fear, anger, and excitement for their professional benefit. As a result of this consumption, the cognitions and emotions of the general public are significantly impacted. There exists empirical evidence on the negative impact of news on mental health. Szabo & Hopkinson (2007), for instance, found that negative mood states and anxiety increase when people are exposed to negative news events.
It is important to maintain a balanced lifestyle to cope with the constant exposure to negative news. Setting a fixed number of hours for watching news and scrolling through news feeds only during specific times throughout the day can be a good option. For example, making a routine of reading news events during morning and evening along with doing other activities such as physical exercise and work. Subscribing to reliable news sources is also essential. Some news sources can be biased and may present fake news. Therefore, cross-checking news sources is important. It is equally important to practice therapeutic techniques such as relaxation exercises like deep breathing, talking to loved ones, and writing down negative thoughts and feelings.
Importance of Professional Counseling: A friend or family member may listen to you, but they aren’t professionally, technically qualified or experienced to offer you professional advice. If you wish you can contact us at MindTribe to receive help from our team of expert psychologists.
About MindTribe.in.
MindTribe Founder Dr. Prerna Kohli, India’s eminent psychologist, established the company to leverage the strength of the online to make counseling affordable and accessible to everyone. MindTribe provides counseling, workshops, support groups, forums, and eLearning.
About the Author.
Mr. Dhruv Beri is a psychologist at MindTribe.in. You can learn more about him by clicking here
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of MindTribe.in, the Founders, or management team.
Acknowledgement: All images used are open source and from Unsplash.