How often do we hear people say, ‘I don’t watch the news because it is always bad news’? Or how often do people complain that there is only bad news out there. And I must agree. It does appear that every time the news comes on, or a newspaper is read, it seems to be bad news. But why is this? If no-one wanted to hear bad news, would it be published? Are we just built the way that if it is bad we need to know? Alternatively, does our dark side come out when it is bad news, the idea of something bad does appeal to a lot of people in different ways. In addition, the thought that it isn’t happening to us, but to someone else, makes it readable, a relief. Many studies have tried to find out the reason why. Psychologists have found a phenomenon, “negativity bias,” which is their term for our collective hunger to hear and remember bad news.
But are there really more bad things happening in the world? Probably not. So why are there more of the bad events reported, shouldn’t there be some kind of equality, at least!
News, whether good or bad, does need publishing, either as part of a TV news report or in newspapers and magazines. What is happening in the world will affect almost everyone, so it is only right that people are informed of world events. Wars, famine, natural disasters are bad news, but everyone deserves to know what is happening. In a lot of instances good comes out of this reporting. Volunteers going to help people in distress. Charities raising money or collecting much needed goods, help and support. Also, there is the argument around sensationalising bad events and making them appeal to certain people, giving fame to those who carry out atrocities, arguing that if this kind of news wasn’t reported then no-one would get to be famous, or infamous. That they wouldn’t get the notoriety they crave. It could also be said that bad news leads to selling more newspapers or getting more viewers which in turn creates more money for those publishing the stories.
It would seem too obvious and simple to say that if there was more good news then people would be happier, feel better about life in general, and, possibly, fewer mental health issues. But how realistic would this be? If there is more good news how would people react when they did find out something bad? It could be argued that in a world where nothing bad is reported, when it does happen it will be ignored and not dealt with, and that there wouldn’t be the network or structure to deal with it. Not long ago, news programmes would end with an uplifting, funny or even strange story, as though after all the bad news they had reported, they needed to finish with something fun to make the viewers feel better.
See what you think. Below are some links to good news stories. Try them, see if they make you feel better.
https://www.onlygoodnewsdaily.com/
Man on a bike. 