According to a study, people who have an obsessive desire to constantly check the news are more prone to suffer from stress, concern, and physical illness. The study was published in the Journal of Health Communication. In the past two years, we have experienced severe global events, including the Covid pandemic to Russia invading Ukraine, large-scale protests, mass shootings, and devastating wildfires.
Being exposed to a 24-hour news cycle of continually evolving events can have serious impacts on mental and physical well-being. Bryan McLaughlin, associate professor of advertising at the College of Media and Communication at Texas Tech University, said, “Witnessing these events unfold in the news can bring about a constant state of high alert in some people, kicking their surveillance motives into overdrive and making the world seem like a dark and dangerous place.”
"For these individuals, a vicious cycle can develop in which, rather than tuning out, they become drawn further in, obsessing over the news and checking for updates around the clock to alleviate their emotional distress. But it doesn't help, and the more they check the news, the more it begins to interfere with other aspects of their lives.”
McLaughlin and his colleagues, Dr. Melissa Gotlieb and Dr. Devin Mills, analysed data from an online survey of 1,100 US adults to study this phenomenon. People were asked about the extent to which they agreed with statements like “I become so absorbed in the news that I forget the world around me”, “my mind is frequently occupied with thoughts about the news”, and “I find it difficult to stop reading or watching the news”, and “I often do not pay attention at school or work because I am reading or watching the news”.
Respondents were also asked about how often they experienced feelings of stress and anxiety, as well as physical ailments such as fatigue, physical pain, poor concentration, and gastrointestinal issue. The results revealed that 16.5% of people surveyed showed signs of 'severely problematic' news consumption. Such individuals frequently became so immersed and personally invested in news stories that the stories dominated the individual's waking thoughts, disrupted time with family and friends, made it difficult to focus on school or work, and contributed to restlessness and an inability to sleep.
According to McLaughlin, the findings show that there is a need for focused media literacy campaigns to help people develop a healthier relationship with the news. “While we want people to remain engaged in the news, it is important that they have a healthier relationship with the news. In most cases, treatment for addictions and compulsive behaviours centres on complete cessation of the problematic behaviour, as it can be difficult to perform the behaviour in moderation.”
