On Feb. 11, I wake up at 7:20 a.m. and open Instagram.
The first post to climb to the top of my feed is from The New York Times, detailing a mass shooting in British Columbia, Canada. I read the headline and get ready for the day.
At 10:00 a.m., while in Perry Cafeteria, I read a file from the Epstein files sent to me on Instagram. It is a young girl’s diary on her experience being held captive. It goes into grueling detail. I wonder how my disgusted face looks to other people sitting and watching.
There is an assignment due I have not started. I need to go shopping after class. I need to ask my mechanic about my car. I have work on Friday. I have a meeting tonight. I do not have time to materialize what is happening around me. I am getting exhausted.
This is what it feels the world wants of me lately — of other students, too.
In the realm of politics, the ability to stand up and speak out against injustices and displeasure with the state of the world is critical. However, when we are overwhelmed with information, we begin to develop a sort of virtual sickness known as “news fatigue.” News fatigue is the mental and sometimes physical toll that your body may begin to take after being exposed to copious amounts of serious, hard news at a frequent rate without breaks.
With all that is going on around the world, news fatigue is becoming a real, serious crisis among our communities — especially with the rise of the internet as a news carrier. The internet as a medium allows mass loads of news to be delivered to users’s pages without room for digestion. According to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, without room to breathe, news fatigue turns into a need for news avoidance.
According to research network ROAM, in 2020, during the global COVID-19 pandemic, news fatigue and subsequent avoidance skyrocketed. While we are not currently battling an evolving disease, it feels like we are in a “news overload” pandemic of sorts — from bombs in Iran to the Epstein files. It only makes sense that people begin to avoid the news. Avoiding the news periodically with intention is necessary in the world we live in now, but those who consistently avoid the news are harming themselves more in the process.
According to Nieman Lab, women and younger, poorer people are often the demographic with the highest news avoidance rates. This can be tied to a potential “voice” that these people feel they lack in the world of politics. When people avoid the news because they do not feel they can help, they miss out on opportunities to be informed about the state of the world and they also risk losing the ability to be equipped to defend themselves and stand up for their beliefs.
Research from Cambridge University highlights the positive relationship between staying attentive to the news and “political knowledge, trust and participation.”
While there are numerous studies like this that prove the importance of staying informed within the news world, news fatigue can wreak havoc on our ability to do so, leading to periods of staying blind and deaf to the things around us. However, there are ways to combat news fatigue.
While you want to avoid becoming a “news avoidant,” taking periodic breaks from certain topics or situations can help lessen the mental load that the news can put on you. Constant news consumption can sometimes aid in the development of “mean world syndrome,” a phenomenon in which after being exposed to constant negative news, the reader begins to develop an idea of the world that is typically more cynical than reality. Taking breaks when needed allows you to reconnect with reality and regain a realistic view of the world.
Eventually, when you do return to consuming the news, it is likely that emotions may heighten and intensify as new findings and studies are published. Instead of letting these emotions weigh you down and draw you away from the news, you can redirect that energy and help yourself all at the same time.
Creating art, forming a protest, writing poems, creating music or even writing opinion columns are healthy ways to redirect the heavy emotional news load into something more positive — especially if you can create something new that inspires other people to do the same.
Finally, a good way to keep a level head during times of heavy news is to make sure you follow unbiased, reliable news sources. Publications that fear-monger through headlines and social media posts are more often than not going to heighten anxiety around the news and could potentially lead to news avoidance. For widely unbiased reporting, look towards sources like the Associated Press, the Reflector or Reuters.
News fatigue is not uncommon in our time, but through mindful reading, intentional breaks and redirected creative energy, the balance between staying mindful and keeping a level head is easier to achieve with each passing day.
After a full day of news consumption, I return home, and I return to social media, as well. Through its medium, I see thousands of stories buzzing back and forth throughout my feed. This time, I turn my phone off and think deeply about the things I have read.
Instead of getting overwhelmed, I start a new document file and begin to use these thoughts and feelings to create something worthwhile in a time of worry and disarray.
