3 ms·

While the concept intuitively makes some sense, I doubt it could ever be proven. How do you make a controlled experiment to prove something like that? Also the

by nn3 5y ago

While the concept intuitively makes some sense, I doubt it could ever be proven. How do you make a controlled experiment to prove something like that? Also the article focuses on murders on TV, but I personally find the sanitized "A-team like" violence where people get beat up all the time, but nobody ever dies, worse. What conclusions should a kid take from viewing a steady diet of that.

nanidin 5y ago
My understanding of Mean World Syndrome was that it is related to what gets shown in the news. The news media get more eyeballs and engagement when they focus on bad things happening in a community. This can lead people to believe that only bad things are happening, or that more bad things are happening than before. The book Factfulness makes a pretty good case that people generally think the world is falling apart but that objectively the world is currently in better shape than any other period of history. As far as a controlled experiment - this is anecdotal, but I tend to feel less safe outside at night if I have been spending more time inside watching the news or consuming social media. I tend to feel more safe outside at night when I have been spending time disconnected from those trying to tell me how the world is.
- martinmakesgame 5y ago
  > The book Factfulness makes a pretty good case that people generally think the world is falling apart but that objectively the world is currently in better shape than any other period of history. The book, Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler also makes the same point about how focusing on the negative can obscure the good that is happening in the world. https://www.diamandis.com/blog/the-world-is-still-better-than-you-think https://www.diamandis.com/blog/the-world-is-still-better-tha...

3 ms·

While the concept intuitively makes some sense, I doubt it could ever be proven. How do you make a controlled experiment to prove something like that? Also the

by nn3 5y ago

nanidin 5y ago
My understanding of Mean World Syndrome was that it is related to what gets shown in the news. The news media get more eyeballs and engagement when they focus on bad things happening in a community. This can lead people to believe that only bad things are happening, or that more bad things are happening than before. The book Factfulness makes a pretty good case that people generally think the world is falling apart but that objectively the world is currently in better shape than any other period of history. As far as a controlled experiment - this is anecdotal, but I tend to feel less safe outside at night if I have been spending more time inside watching the news or consuming social media. I tend to feel more safe outside at night when I have been spending time disconnected from those trying to tell me how the world is.
- martinmakesgame 5y ago
  > The book Factfulness makes a pretty good case that people generally think the world is falling apart but that objectively the world is currently in better shape than any other period of history. The book, Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler also makes the same point about how focusing on the negative can obscure the good that is happening in the world. https://www.diamandis.com/blog/the-world-is-still-better-than-you-think https://www.diamandis.com/blog/the-world-is-still-better-tha...