3 ms·

The same is true for terrorism of course. Terrorism catches our attention because it's morally outrageous, not because it's statistically dangerous to people i

The same is true for terrorism of course. Terrorism catches our attention because it's morally outrageous, not because it's statistically dangerous to people in Western countries. But if you talk with "regular people", you'll notice that media coverage gives people an unwarranted fear of outlier events: terrorism, mass shootings, plane crashes, etc. In reality, almost everyone in the US should fear the real killers: obesity, cancer, stroke, etc.

softawre 10y ago
Well said. In fact, I would not be surprised if people were so stressed out about these rare things they can not control that they developed habits like binge eating, drinking, and smoking - that had a much higher chance of leading to their early demise.
ams6110 10y ago
I think it's almost 100% news media sensationalism. News media today is not about investigative reporting, or real news. It's about selling ads and getting eyeballs. So they report rare events as if they happen every day and you need to keep watching so you know what to do about it. The news media today is toxic. You could do little more to improve your outlook on life and the future than simply not watching it. At all. I haven't watched a news program on any major network or any cable news in several years, and I don't miss it at all.
- superuser2 10y ago
  >watched That's your problem. There has always been a major step down in quality from print to TV (precisely because of the need to fill airtime and hold people's attention to it). That step is smaller now as papers get more desperate to stay alive, but there are still print media doing good work. Drastically better than cable news, anyway.
- kayla210 10y ago
  I agree. It seems like everything on the news is blown out of proportion and beaten to death in an attempt to fill the day with "interesting" stuff. No, this is just making people scared to go outside and actually enjoy life. I've stopped watching the news and just read it whenever I hear of something going on that piques my interest on the Internet. It's pointless for me to watch 24-hour news coverage of a shooting or kidnapping that is just going to make me think less of the world I live in.

softawre 10y ago

Well said. In fact, I would not be surprised if people were so stressed out about these rare things they can not control that they developed habits like binge eating, drinking, and smoking - that had a much higher chance of leading to their early demise.

ams6110 10y ago

I think it's almost 100% news media sensationalism. News media today is not about investigative reporting, or real news. It's about selling ads and getting eyeballs. So they report rare events as if they happen every day and you need to keep watching so you know what to do about it. The news media today is toxic. You could do little more to improve your outlook on life and the future than simply not watching it. At all. I haven't watched a news program on any major network or any cable news in several years, and I don't miss it at all.

superuser2 10y ago
>watched That's your problem. There has always been a major step down in quality from print to TV (precisely because of the need to fill airtime and hold people's attention to it). That step is smaller now as papers get more desperate to stay alive, but there are still print media doing good work. Drastically better than cable news, anyway.
kayla210 10y ago
I agree. It seems like everything on the news is blown out of proportion and beaten to death in an attempt to fill the day with "interesting" stuff. No, this is just making people scared to go outside and actually enjoy life. I've stopped watching the news and just read it whenever I hear of something going on that piques my interest on the Internet. It's pointless for me to watch 24-hour news coverage of a shooting or kidnapping that is just going to make me think less of the world I live in.