#4: Positive Pathways Volume 1 - Overcoming the Negative News Cycle

Recently, I've been unable to get off my phone when I start looking at the news; it usually begins with one story, and then before I know it, it's been half an hour, and I've gone down the rabbit hole. After that, I feel emotionally and physically drained. Has something like this happened to you before? This is more common than you might think. Named "doomscrolling", refers to a state of media use typically characterised as someone scrolling through their social media newsfeeds with an obsessive focus on distressing, depressing, or otherwise negative information. This term really became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What are the reasons for this? Why does it seem like we have a predisposition towards consuming negative media?

In this episode, we'll explore why our brains are predisposed to focus on the negative and how both traditional and social media amplify this effect. More importantly, we'll provide practical strategies to break free from this negativity loop.

To balance the discussion, we'll also share four uplifting news stories to remind us of the good in the world.

Join me as we embark on a journey to navigate and balance our media consumption. Our goal is to achieve a healthier mental outlook, free from the negative impacts of excessive media consumption.

References:

• Vaish, A., Grossmann, T. and Woodward, A. (2008) ‘Not all emotions are created equal: The negativity bias in social-emotional development.’, Psychological Bulletin, 134(3), pp. 383–403. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.134.3.383.


• Robertson, C.E. et al. (2023) ‘Negativity drives online news consumption’, Nature Human Behaviour, 7(5), pp. 812–822. doi:10.1038/s41562-023-01538-4.


• Sharma, B., Lee, S.S. and Johnson, B.K. (2022) ‘The dark at the end of the tunnel: Doomscrolling on social media newsfeeds.’, Technology, Mind, and Behavior, 3(1). doi:10.1037/tmb0000059.


• Aoki, N. et al. (2024) ‘Soundscape enrichment increases larval settlement rates for the brooding coral  porites astreoides’, Royal Society Open Science, 11(3). doi:10.1098/rsos.231514.


• https://earth.org/can-soundscapes-save-coral-reefs/


• https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/04/16/greece-to-become-first-in-europe-to-ban-bottom-trawling-in-all-marine-protected-areas


• https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-24/australasian-bittern-returns-to-lagoon-of-islands/103754336


• https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/66275/climate-justice-international-court-hearings-klimaseniorinnen-duarte-careme/


• https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/04/09/top-european-human-rights-court-could-rule-that-governments-have-to-protect-people-from-cl

** If you are feeling overwhelmed by the news and would like to speak to someone about it, please use the following resources**

Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636

Lifeline: 13 11 14

www.ruok.org.au

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themodernmaze.substack.com