4 minute lesson
Why Don’t We See More Positive News?
Let’s take a minute to ask ourselves a really important question: Why is it that we hear so many stories of crime and war but not the positive news of progress and the stories of people at work making the world better?
How did we get here? Progress is happening around the globe and yet we don’t know about it, and that can make it seem like the world is a scary place, or that we don’t have a bright future ahead of us. Luckily, we can start to combat this negativity!
The Harvard Professor and psychologist, Steven Pinker, has studied some of the reasons why we aren’t seeing more positive news. Here he is explaining why, and how we can make a change for the better!
Why It Matters
Progress has become “normal” and “normal” isn’t newsworthy! It’s hard to get excited about a steady decline in poverty when there is a much catchier story out there.
The web is based on an attention economy. Every single click we make is being counted by someone. It’s a pretty simple system: whatever we click on, we get more of. Good or bad, it makes no difference. A click is a vote that says, “Yes, please. Definitely give me more of this!”
If we click on web content that has roots in fear or anger— even if it is just out of curiosity or boredom — then we will get more of that. But the reverse is true too! If we share and click on positive news about progress and people making the world a better place for everyone we will get more of it!
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Freethink
Freethink is a publication that profiles people thinking differently and making a difference. We’re on a mission to inform and inspire the next generation to change the world for the better.