Tired of bad news? Don't worry, you're not alone…

 As we grapple with dismal headlines about pandemics, political upheaval, racial injustice and climate change, there isn't much good news for us to read.

Meanwhile, many people — of all ages and backgrounds — gave up on the news, joining the ranks of the so-called “news avoiders”. Some limit the amount of news they consume. Others avoid it altogether. They don't watch, listen, or read.

News avoidance is the subject of my research paper “No News is Not Good News,” which will soon be published in the Athens Journal of Mass Media and Communications. As a journalist working for over 30 years, I experienced major changes in the news industry firsthand. Now, as a journalism professor, I have the opportunity to explore what is behind the avoidance trend.

Tired & need rest

The weight of world news can be too heavy. Even before the arrival of COVID-19, a 2019 survey of 12,000 American adults found 66% admitted they were “tired” by the sheer amount of news available.

In 2020, 71% of American adults said they needed to “take a break from COVID-19 news” while 43% said the news “made them feel worse emotionally.” qqcitybet

In 2021, a survey in Canada found more than two-thirds (69%) of 1,002 Canadians surveyed admitted to being “tired when it comes to consuming news about the pandemic.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) even addresses this in their mental health advice, saying, "Try to reduce the time you watch, read, or listen to news that makes you feel anxious or depressed." And more and more people are paying attention to this.

In 2020, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford looked at people who are “vulnerable to the infodemic” in the UK – people who choose to cut back on pandemic news. More than a fifth said “they often or always actively try to avoid the news” with the majority citing the impact on their mood.

Distrust of the media

Maintaining mental health appears to be the main reason behind this increase in avoidance, but trust issues are also mentioned. Distrust of mainstream media is nothing new, but skepticism of journalism has increased during the pandemic as anti-vaccination advocates and conspiracy theorists have questioned the validity and accuracy of COVID-19 facts shared by news organizations and governments.

In 2021's annual worldwide Trust Barometer, Edelman (a communications firm) finds trust in media, both traditional and social, to be at an all-time low. One of the factors is the strong perception of bias among journalists. Of the 33,000 people surveyed, 59% agreed with this: “Journalists and reporters deliberately try to mislead people by saying things they know are wrong or exaggerated.”