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Negativity drives online news consumption

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Re: Negativity drives online news consumption

#61

Post by double0jimb0 »

adamrezich wrote: post #46
gwbrooks wrote: post #10

Former newspaper city editor here. With few exceptions, positive stories -- although readers clamored for them in surveys -- never drove newsrack sales the way negative stories did. That's why we had a whole section for feel-good features but they didn't usually get prime front-page real estate. In the age of infinite content, headlines have become a sort of drama arms race. But the basic dynamic of what works and wh…

sometime around the 2016 US Presidential elections, when outragebait headlines had arguably achieved a local maximum, I will now never forget how I overcame headline rage forever. I saw some headline about how students at some school, Berkeley I believe, had joined arms and surrounded the front entrance to the school, and would only allow non-white students to go through, forcing white students to go around and enter…

Had similar experience watching TV ads. It started with a beauty ad which was plainly targeting viewers’ body image insecurities. Was very jarring to recognize how dark and manipulative the glossy, “upbeat” ad truly was.

Then recognized same pattern in every TV ad afterwards, almost all target some sort of insecurity or feeling of lack.

Re: Negativity drives online news consumption

#62

Post by dsfyu404ed »

wafriedemann wrote: post #39
olliecornelia wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people are hoping for a catastrophe that will render all their personal problems irrelevant, be it World War III, environmental disasters or societal collapse. Like a snow day for your whole life.

Very interesting point. The other type is people who think they'll be on top after a society-breaking external event. It's a very bitter and passive attitude. Something to hold on to for the ones who don't have the power to do things themselves. I guess News just mirror that attitude. In a less dramatic way negative News distract you from your own problems for a while.

Of course everyone loses to an extent in a collapse but power is relative. And short of a meteor collapses are usually partial (e.g. the roman empire fell but the church remained and consolidated power).

You can only paint with a broad brush but it's not exactly hard to pick out groups that will be net recipients of relative power and wealth in various collapse scenarios.

If the financial system collapses people who own capital in whole (e.g. some tradesman with his van full of tools) and people who own "promises" of things (the contents of your 401k, bank account, etc) lose. If high level government collapses people who are associated with alternate sources of organization and administration (local government, the church) win. If local government collapses people who depended a lot on those services lose and people who already went without win.

Remember, money and political capital are convertible to each other to an extent so that complicates things as well.

So it's perfectly rational for people to root for the kind of specific tumultuous change that would benefit them.

Re: Negativity drives online news consumption

#63

Post by calvinmorrison »

themitigating wrote: post #53
Gare wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, we are primed as animals that we are to be scared and vigilant. Because that ensured survival.

I watched a farewell video of a very far right person dying of Covid. He didn't get vaccinated but I don't know if it was because he was anti-vax, didn't think Covid was real or didn't get a chance as this was early in the pandemic. It was a recording made from a hospital bed and uploaded to Facebook. As he was saying his goodbyes he said something like "...and tell Brandon (son) I love him, not to trust anyone, and…

[flagged]

Re: Negativity drives online news consumption

#64

Post by somenameforme »

pmarreck wrote: post #13
gwbrooks wrote: post #10

Former newspaper city editor here. With few exceptions, positive stories -- although readers clamored for them in surveys -- never drove newsrack sales the way negative stories did. That's why we had a whole section for feel-good features but they didn't usually get prime front-page real estate. In the age of infinite content, headlines have become a sort of drama arms race. But the basic dynamic of what works and wh…

Do you think this is just how we're wired? What is so extremely disappointing to me is that, across many objective measures, many things seem to be improving, yet the perception most people have of reality is the complete opposite, thanks to this perverse incentive.

I'd argue that people's impression of the world is going to be driven largely by their own perspective, not media. Borrowing a quote [1] from Stephen Pinker, probably the most visible advocate for 'things are getting better' :

"... the United States is an outlier among rich Western democracies, with a stagnation in happiness and higher rates of homicide, incarceration, abortion, sexually transmitted disease, child mortality, obesity, educational mediocrity and premature death.... "

Many of these issues are ones people are going to be aware of, and that is going to impact, them on a day to day basis. And that's going to inform their decisions much more than whatever the news is saying. And that was written back in 2018 which absolutely feels like the "good ole days" compared to now a days!

[1] - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2018/02...

Re: Negativity drives online news consumption

#65

Post by froh »

adamrezich wrote: post #46
gwbrooks wrote: post #10

Former newspaper city editor here. With few exceptions, positive stories -- although readers clamored for them in surveys -- never drove newsrack sales the way negative stories did. That's why we had a whole section for feel-good features but they didn't usually get prime front-page real estate. In the age of infinite content, headlines have become a sort of drama arms race. But the basic dynamic of what works and wh…

sometime around the 2016 US Presidential elections, when outragebait headlines had arguably achieved a local maximum, I will now never forget how I overcame headline rage forever. I saw some headline about how students at some school, Berkeley I believe, had joined arms and surrounded the front entrance to the school, and would only allow non-white students to go through, forcing white students to go around and enter…

"dependent origination" is a name for that chain from a thought all the way via emotions and physiological reaction (blood boiling) to new thoughts and so on.

catching oneself in that circular road and taking another turn off that wheel, that aha!, that enlightening moment is what some people invest heavily into, time, energy even money.

and you have it just like so, ten years ago, from that news article on racists blaming anti-racists for a racist anti-racism gig...

what a gift :-)

and thank you for sharing!

Re: Negativity drives online news consumption

#66

Post by zpeti »

adamrezich wrote: post #46
gwbrooks wrote: post #10

Former newspaper city editor here. With few exceptions, positive stories -- although readers clamored for them in surveys -- never drove newsrack sales the way negative stories did. That's why we had a whole section for feel-good features but they didn't usually get prime front-page real estate. In the age of infinite content, headlines have become a sort of drama arms race. But the basic dynamic of what works and wh…

sometime around the 2016 US Presidential elections, when outragebait headlines had arguably achieved a local maximum, I will now never forget how I overcame headline rage forever. I saw some headline about how students at some school, Berkeley I believe, had joined arms and surrounded the front entrance to the school, and would only allow non-white students to go through, forcing white students to go around and enter…

Yeah, I actually get more annoyed when "my own" political side does this. They take the worst possible example of the other side and make outragous article about them. Yet I know most people on the other side are actually good people, with good intentions, we just disagree on a few points.

Yet all I ever see in the media are ridiculous parodies of the other side. I've basically stopped almost all politics reading at this point. It's no better than gossip columns, and big brother level entertainment, it's just packaged for people who think they're more intelligent than those who watch big brother.

Re: Negativity drives online news consumption

#67

Post by B1FF_PSUVM »

PhysicalNomad wrote: post #47

I stopped reading news a year ago for this reason, having left social networks for much longer. Of course I still have some exposure through HN, but overall I'm happier and don't miss them one bit.

One of these days the fountains of poison will have 100% of a nearly deserted market.

Great success.

Re: Negativity drives online news consumption

#68

Post by 65 »

gwbrooks wrote: post #10

Former newspaper city editor here. With few exceptions, positive stories -- although readers clamored for them in surveys -- never drove newsrack sales the way negative stories did. That's why we had a whole section for feel-good features but they didn't usually get prime front-page real estate. In the age of infinite content, headlines have become a sort of drama arms race. But the basic dynamic of what works and wh…

As they say, "If it's a bad day, it's a good day!"

Re: Negativity drives online news consumption

#69

Post by yifanl »

calvinmorrison wrote: post #63
themitigating wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I watched a farewell video of a very far right person dying of Covid. He didn't get vaccinated but I don't know if it was because he was anti-vax, didn't think Covid was real or didn't get a chance as this was early in the pandemic. It was a recording made from a hospital bed and uploaded to Facebook. As he was saying his goodbyes he said something like "...and tell Brandon (son) I love him, not to trust anyone, and…

[flagged]

I don't think the relevant part of the previous comment was the political affiliation of the patient.

Re: Negativity drives online news consumption

#70

Post by yifanl »

themitigating wrote: post #40
milsorgen wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It makes sense at a surface level, if you ignore negative information it could potentially lead to negative outcomes for yourself. If you ignore positive news, what's the worst that could happen if you're caught unawares? Something positive or at least personally benign?

Is missing out on something positive bad? Don't positive stories contribute to a positive outlook on life? Therefore missing these stories could be a negative?

As the saying goes, if you never know you have it, you'll never miss it.
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