Ever found yourself browsing sensational news late into the night, often, to find out why a celebrity couple split up, who attempted to commit suicide and why, what was the name of that film or drama that’s facing a ban, but what did it really have to show that was so sensational or, annoyed the patriarchy, or our orthodox sensibilities? Ever find yourself more interested in the mis(happenings) of others than in positive news that you tend to, ho hum, scroll by? You’re not alone.
In a study reported by The Politics and Policy Blog at The LSE, it was discovered that newsstand magazine sales increase by roughly 30 per cent when the cover is negative rather than positive.
Did you know that the human brain tends to focus more on negative than positive news? Hence, can you blame media publications for reporting the same? They are running a business, after all!
My research led me to a revelation of sorts, read on:
1. We Are naturally inclined towards reading negative news
Surprise, surprise. News content is predominantly negative because humans tend to be more attentive to negative information. This evidence is backed up by research and you can read all about it here.
Last night I scrolled my feed and came upon personal images of a celebrity couple that was facing a tough time, a really tough time in life. And I wondered if the publication that had oh so ruthlessly posted their images had any conscience, I mean, what will people do for a few clicks?
But then, I eyed the multiple rows of comments and likes on the post … And here’s the missing piece of the puzzle folks! News publications will follow where the readers take them
2. Viral Whatsapp Messages and News Of Impending Disasters Make For Great Forwarding!
If sensational news exists and it is spread more than positive or, ho hum, boring news, this is because we, the readers find pleasure in reading about it, about other people’s misery or misfortune or breakup, tragedy … the list is endless. It’s not that we’re perse, ‘bad people’, just that our attention gravitates towards the negative first and foremost.
The viral Whatsapp messages, yes the ones that tell you “forwarded many times” either warn of a near apocalypse, or disclose news of a conspiracy, a health scare or, a reason to incite fear amongst us so that we spread the news as fast as we can, to engender and share the fear in our fellow humans. Research also says, that news that spurs us into action is read the most. So for example, if we read about the latest research that Microwave use spreads a deadly disease, we will spring to forward it and lo and behold, we’ve warned our fellow human beings to stay off the wretched mass convenience!
I mean, why suffer alone right?
We forward these messages not necessarily to create alarm but because we feel a need to inform, warn people against impending doom. Hence, the message goes viral, …”oh you got it too?” You ask a friend. “Yeah grandma forwarded it on the family chat!”
3. But Are You Better Than Your Fellow Humans Hungering For Gossip?
If you believe you are better than that, better than all those hungering for a sneak peek into the tragic lives of others, here’s what to do with negative messaging if you really and truly want to change the formula.
Verify news you receive on your feed or your Whatsapp. Check updates on the topic on Google, check trusted news sites and also look at the date the article or news bite you were sent was published. Do not forward any information you have not verified yourself. Don’t fall for click bait captions till you haven’t read what lies beyond them.
Secondly, are you really that interested to know why Couple X and Y are heading for a divorce? Would you like people to share news of your divorce, or off key relationships? The answer would be no, but of course, that doesn’t stop us from STILL clicking on that sensational news story – after all, curiosity did kill the cat, remember?
So, despite our better judgement, we still do it. Human beings are strangely unaware of consequences or compassionate with others privacy when it’s not themselves in the news.
Which brings me to the study I mentioned above that found …
4. Newsstand magazine sales increase by roughly 30 per cent when the cover is negative rather than positive
Hence, my answer to the question above, yes, we do take delight, interest, show unashamed curiosity in other people’s misery. And the news companies have evidence in the form of profits to show for it.
5. But Will We Ever Stop?
No, not according to the research above. Call it boredom, call it a burning need to know other people’s business, or call it a natural bias towards negative information. And now that we have a study to justify it, there’s no stopping us right? It’s in our DNA!
But what we can do, is stop calling out part of the problem.
Hence, next time you come across a news feed shouting out trouble in a happily married couple’s life, stop yourself from calling it out as yellow journalism or gossip, or unethical reporting because, you’re part of the problem. Others like you are reading it, liking it, and commenting on it. And you now what, the more views, the more hits, the more viral it gets and the more money the publication makes, and in return, the more gossip you get, the more this news and the likes of it will continue to be reported, or misreported!
So, guess what, surprised again? It doesn’t start from them. It starts from us.
If we were to stop reading, there would be no Spare. There’s no gossip when there’s nobody to tell it to, because, no one’s listening. But you are listening, right?
Then keep on scrolling that feed late into the night, just make sure, it’s not you they’re talking about next!
