Optimism is a precious part of our personality and needs our protection. As I explained in a recent post on my blog, optimism is а powerful force. It can lead to greater productivity, better health, stronger relationships and an improved quality of life.
Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Dr. Daniel Kahneman said it well: “If you are allowed one wish for your child, seriously consider wishing him or her optimism.”
We should all want more optimism in our and our children’s lives. Yet, it is more difficult than ever to keep our optimism intact.
Life in Today’s World Can Be a Real Challenge
Traditional news and media have always favoured negative stories. Remember the old saying from crusty journalists portrayed in the movies, “If it bleeds it will read.”
All media work hard to capture and retain our attention, and this is how they do it.
What Is an Algorithm?
We hear this term a lot lately, but what is it?
An algorithm is simply a set of instructions, like the procedure for tying your shoe laces or the steps laid out in a recipe.
Media companies like Facebook, Google and YouTube use computer programs with a highly complex set of instructions, called algorithms. These algorithms control what information you see in your social media feed.
In the Early Days
In the early days of social media, your news feed consisted mostly of content that your friends or followers posted. Hence, the nickname for Facebook, brag book.
Now things have become a little darker, according to Julia Angwin, founder of Proof News. Angwin argues that media platforms have prioritized content that is outrageous, provocative and not necessarily accurate. That is what they send to your computer or phone.
What Can Be Done?
Essentially, all media want your business. The more you read and watch what they offer, and the longer viewers stay on each post or video (yes, they measure this), the more money the platforms make from advertisers. It is that simple.
You can protect yourself by being selective and limiting your exposure. YouTube and all social media know what you watch. And the more passive you become with your reading and watching, the easier it is for them to manipulate you.
But you don’t have to let their wind blow you around, to their benefit.
You Can Take Some Control Back
Here are some simple steps that can help.
Let Your Actions Be Choices
Remember that everything you click on, like, search for, watch and stay watching will send a message to the algorithms. The message to them is, “I like that, and I want more of it.” Then they may start sending you more extreme versions.
Be Active and Selective
When you see something that doesn’t seem quite right, leave the site or platform you are watching. This is a simple and powerful message to the platforms. They hate that and it costs them money. If you are still curious, go to a credible website and check for the accuracy of the story.
Check in with How You Feel
And then actively use that information to guide your actions. Prolonged news scrolling can make you feel depressed, irritable and no fun to be around. Like they say, you (and your self-esteem) can disappear down a rabbit hole. Or sometimes, it may feel more like circling the toilet bowl.
Even Comedy Can Be Demoralizing
I love watching The Daily Show and sometimes even the other late-night shows. But even though I am laughing at the clever comedy, too much of it can bring me down. This is especially true if I watch different shows that focus on the same daily depressing events.
Repetition Can Be Even More Depressing
Cable news stations have to fill 24 hours each day with content, and this is not easy to do. They manage this by recycling the same stories throughout the day. It is not hard to imagine, if you keep watching, how these negative stories watched over and over can bring you down. People out of work or retired are at high risk, since they are more likely to spend more time in front of their television or computer.
Be Careful About the Meaning
If you come across a story in the news, remember it is news because it is uncommon and often rare. A story about a murder in your city would not make the news unless it is uncommon. After reading this story, we may feel that more murders are likely to keep happening. This makes us all feel unsafe. And, unfortunately, some news shows capitalize on these fears so we will keep watching.
But this is not a correct interpretation of the news story. One murder only means one murder. If more murders keep happening, this would be a separate story with numbers to back it up.
Protect Yourself
All this negativity can affect your mood and diminish your optimism. In today’s world, we need as much optimism as we can get.
If the algorithms or network television have been getting you down and altering your optimistic view of the world, the first steps are to limit and/or control your exposure. If we don’t take some control of how we feel, the media companies are more than happy to do it for us, at our expense.
Let’s Start a Conversation:
Has your time in front of the television or computer gotten out of hand? Can you think of simple ways to turn this around? Can you think of how this may benefit your mood, energy and ability to get more important things done?
