Today my girlfriend told me that she hasn't been able to calm down recently. I analyzed whether it was because of the hot weather or lack of sleep, but she said it wasn't. Then she thought about it for a while and told me that it might be because she has been consuming too much information lately, especially all the hot topics and various information on Weibo. The abundance of information generated by social media platforms has caused her psychological anxiety. She said she wants to quit the internet.
Immediately, I remembered an article I read on GoodRx Health called "Doomscrolling: Why Too Much News Can Be Bad for Your Mental Health". Why is too much news detrimental to our mental health?
The Source of Anxiety#
Staying informed about news and current events can help broaden our horizons, increase our knowledge, and keep us engaged with and informed about social trends. However, news can also have positive and negative effects. Negative news often brings us more stress.
One of the contributing factors is negativity bias. Negativity bias refers to the tendency for people to pay more attention to negative events or information while ignoring positive or optimistic content. This bias can be seen as a protective mechanism.
The Impact of Excessive News Consumption#
The impacts are evident.
Physically, it can lead to headaches, fatigue, weight changes, sexual problems, and in the long run, it can even cause hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and other illnesses.
Psychologically, it commonly increases stress, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and more.
Further Reflection#
I was thinking that it's not just news, but any information posted by internet users can potentially trigger psychological anxiety.
In recent years, with the rise of social media platforms, everyone can express their opinions online. Take Sina Weibo as an example, where rumors can cause gender conflicts, exaggerate the private lives of celebrities, and become "keyboard warriors" who cyberbully others... If the platform is not well regulated, it will only exacerbate social conflicts and lead to conflicts.
A few days ago, the China Internet Information Office issued a notice titled "Notice on Strengthening the Management of 'Self-Media'", which requires strengthening the management of information authenticity and standardizing information source labeling. Sometimes, the spread of false information can have immeasurable consequences, and debunking rumors often requires a great deal of effort.
While the quality of information varies, there are methods to filter and screen information.
Filtering and Screening Information#
The aforementioned article also mentioned how to establish a healthy relationship with news information.
- Add more good news. Actively pay attention to positive news, and if you come across content that makes you uncomfortable, close it decisively.
- Limit your time. Control the amount of time you spend on social media platforms each day, just like my girlfriend mentioned at the beginning that she wants to quit the internet.
- Limit your sources.
Speaking of limiting sources, I have to mention RSS.
By using RSS, we can actively obtain information that interests us and exclude content that we dislike or are uninterested in. Although it is not very popular at the moment, my understanding is that it rejects algorithms and actively acquires information. Even if you don't understand RSS, it doesn't matter as long as you understand this point.
Learn to think independently. I think the popularity of short videos has gradually caused people to lose their ability to think independently.
A recent case that has received a lot of attention is the case of the privately built floating bridge. There are various opinions online, with some supporting the court's ruling and others supporting the villager Huang's construction of the bridge. Initially, I read an article by Luo Xiang titled "Is It Guilty to Build a Floating Bridge?" and thought it made sense, and the truth might be as he described. However, as I read more and more reports from various perspectives, the situation became more complex, far from being as simple as we imagined.
I believe that we should not easily draw conclusions about things, nor should we judge based solely on one person or one aspect. We should think and analyze more. The world is too complex, and people are even more complex.
In the end, it's better to spend less time online and read more books.