Wherever we go, the news permeates our lives. The information we have is a gift; we can learn varying, important perspectives. However, it’s challenging to navigate the world of news reports, especially in an era of controversy and misinformation.
How can we, as high school students, find the accurate, full picture in the news, while also maintaining our own mental health despite all going on? There are ways to develop a healthier relationship with the news, helping us become informed and responsible world citizens.
Dealing with misinformation
Unfortunately, our current landscape is filled with confusing headlines, including misinformation. Teen Life, a site dedicated to teenagers, explains that misinformation campaigns are often organized among a small group of people, and that we can combat these campaigns.
The first step to working with misinformation is identifying exactly what is wrong. We can’t instantly assume whether something is misinformation, but we can look to see if a claim is backed by evidence. Observing whether its source is reliable can help us judge.
Afterward, we should identify the source’s motives, and figure out how to correct them factually. We can evaluate misinformation and become better critical thinkers by actively engaging with and considering the reliability of what we read. We can ask analytical questions, find well-researched thoughts and ideas, and understand why people think what they do.
”Use your intuition,” English 1 teacher Ms. Milligan advises. “If [a source] seems like it’s one-sided, it probably is.” She encourages students to find out if someone actually wrote a given source, and to come up with our own opinions on others’ posts through reliable research.
On a larger scale, we can advocate for better institutions, changing practices that instigate the spread of misinformation. Political action, for those who can vote or otherwise contribute, can also mitigate misinformation.
Learning about less reported stories
[Note for readers: Links in this section discuss violent conflict and other injustices.]
Living in a large Western country, we have a disparity in coverage. NewsLab explains that “bigger countries [have] more ability to be the subject of news, but smaller countries [are] more likely to succeed in pushing their domestic agendas into the global news system.”
Conflicts in certain regions of the world are covered far more than others, often due to national and political interests. Western biases also affect our understanding of media. When we view people involved in conflicts as “different” due to their nationalities and lifestyles, it blocks us from identifying with their experiences.
The US-centric media script prioritizes “core nations,” like the US, Russia, China, and EU countries, over “peripheral nations,” which seemingly don’t have as much relevance. This lack of media coverage creates a lack of understanding, so people don’t look for information — creating a cyclical problem.
In an interview with Akademie DW, German communication science professor Hektor Haarkötter observed that “the southern hemisphere… is widely neglected in the media coverage of Western industrialized nations. If you then think about how many people live there, namely the majority of the world’s population, then this void is almost grotesque.”
This isn’t the only way media bias prevails. Our World in Data shares that, from 2006 to 2015, terrorist attacks were more covered when they targeted governing agencies, and when their perpetrators were Muslim, as a result of the 9/11 attacks.
When such reports are disproportionately publicized, it becomes easier to recall rare, extreme events, and a confirmation bias develops concerning people’s existing beliefs.
Moreover, Hispanic and Black Americans are more likely to find media coverage of their stories unfair, while White Americans typically feel that their stories are covered enough. In a study publicized by Pew Research, 63% of Black Americans surveyed felt that news coverage about Black people was more negative.
This occurred because of biased agendas, uninformed reporters, rushed stories, and a lack of Black staff. Many surveyed had very little optimism that things would change in the future.
All of this is why it’s extremely important to seek out various sources for the information you consume: you can get a better picture of all that is going on in the world, and how communities are affected.
Finding news outlets that cover global topics, following accounts that report on diverse issues, examining biases, and working to understand events around the world can help you become a more informed citizen.
Fostering a healthy relationship with the news
To analyze the impacts of news, we can divide it into two categories. Hard news carries a sense of urgency: this includes political and economic news, reports about violent conflicts, and discussion of social issues. Soft news, on the other hand, discusses culture, entertainment, and lifestyle.
When we read hard news, we typically experience an emotional response, as well as physical effects of anxiety. News consumption becomes problematic when stress over it becomes consistent: when one finds themself compulsively checking the headlines, or experiencing interference in their daily lives due to stress.
Overwhelming news consumption can even make people detached and cynical, as they assume that there’s nothing they can do. Increased stress can damage mental and physical health.
This is challenging to deal with. On one hand, we feel a responsibility to engage with world issues; on the other hand, if we compromise our own health, we can’t work to our fullest capacity for change.
Ms. Milligan shares some tips for students on developing a healthier relationship with the news: “My… advice would be not to read the news 24/7. I think a lot of [people] have fallen down that rabbit hole of watching one news outlet all day long. Don’t watch the news all the time; don’t limit yourself to one news source.”
As she recommends, many people limit how often they access the news, keeping them away from “doomscrolling” habits. In some cases, we must understand that we can’t do anything about certain topics.
However, doing something, even if it’s small, can help you channel concern and frustration over larger topics. If you’re especially concerned about a cause, you can raise awareness about it, or volunteer for a related charity.
It’s also important to notice good news stories, and see what progress is being made with sociopolitical issues. This lets us recharge, while also seeing how far we’ve come and how far we need to go.
By taking steps to preserve yourself, you are equipping yourself to make change. Even if it feels small, your everyday community is a great place to start.
