You can’t care about everything. News fatigue continues to plague society Maddy Ting
Maddy Ting
Rise and shine, it’s your daily news announcements! Every day, the media bombards American society with reports about everything from recent shootings to elections. According to ResearchGate, more than 5,000 articles are published daily within the U.S. Tired of seeing headline after headline? You may be experiencing news fatigue. According to Pew Research Center, seven in 10 Americans experience news fatigue. News fatigue is characterized by a feeling of tiredness when reading the news, and a sense of being overwhelmed by the amount of articles published each day. Despite the term being unfamiliar to many, the feeling of being overwhelmed by modern coverage can be seen throughout society. “I hadn’t seen the term used before, but when I first heard ‘news fatigue,’ it evoked a familiar feeling of seeing yet another blaring headline that didn’t even register,” Mira Wakefield, a sophomore, said. Being overwhelmed by daily articles has become more of a trend in modern society because of technology. Social media and television have made it even easier for the average American to receive news. Pew Research Center reports that nearly 6 HIGHLANDER FEATURES
two-thirds of Americans receive their news from social media while also using traditional news sources to supplement their intake of reporting.
“When I first heard ‘news fatigue,’ it evoked a familiar feeling of seeing yet another blaring headline that didn’t even register.” Mira Wakefield Sophomore
“I like feeling informed about the news but I usually don’t go out of my way to read it. I usually get my news either from wordof-mouth or from social media,” Sophie Oesterich, a junior, said. Because social media is readily available, it’s become easier for the average
American to read the news daily, increasing one’s chances of experiencing news fatigue. According to the American Press Institute, nearly two-thirds of adults look at the news several times a day. In severe cases, news fatigue can lead to news avoidance. Oesterich alludes to the idea of avoiding headlines, relating to her own experience with the news. “I am very, very passionate about climate change and climate justice, but when I keep seeing more and more articles and headlines about the lack of action being taken, it can be really hard to keep a positive mindset and not lose hope,” Oesterich said. “In addition, the sheer number of headlines coming from our current political climate have led me to try to completely avoid those headlines.” News avoidance is a common way to deal with news fatigue. According to The Reuters Institute’s 2017 Digital News Report, one in every three Americans “sometimes” or “often” avoided the news, “usually because they did not trust it or found it upsetting.” “News fatigue is the reason I do not want to watch the news, as a lot of the time, it is a depression booster, especially for teens,” Anthony Yip, a sophomore, said. Yip adds that news fatigue often has a larger effect on an individual’s life, impact-