Headlines swarm our phones, our TVs, our mail, and our lives every single day. We have so much access to news and information, much of which is tragic, that it’s sometimes hard to separate the headline from the actual event. A mass shooting, an act of police brutality, and a threat to immigrants, all show up on our phones nearly monthly, and somehow, all of this chaos feels normal. Many people do their best to fight these injustices, but to a lot of us, these headlines are almost never surprising, and much of the time, it can be hard to visualize these events as real and more than just a news article. Especially this year, having so many life-changing events in the world and in the country, much of it seems to blend together.
The use of social media has exacerbated the negative effects that the news has on people’s lives, including numbness and desensitization in response to tragedy and violence. Having access to news and public forums like Twitter and Instagram 24 hours a day caused the normalization of being faced with tragedy constantly. Before social media, Dr. Michael Pittaro writes that, “Of course, there were acts of violence. Of course, there were child abductions, murders, global conflicts, etc., but they did not seem to consume every waking hour of our daily lives.” With social media, the news consumes every waking hour of our daily lives, making us used to tragedy.
This is especially true for young people, who have not known a world where news was not at their fingertips at all times. Older members of Generation Z have grown up with the development of social media, making them experts in it, and consequently, one of the most exposed groups to the effects of 24 hour news. For younger children, hearing their families talk about news as a result of overexposure can cause confusion, and according to the APA, “They may not always understand what is being said, but sometimes that confusion can be a source of anxiety and worry.” Over time, this anxiety can become standard and a part of children’s normal lives, potentially causing mental health repercussions that aren’t addressed.
As young people, we must make an effort to not allow ourselves to be desensitized, so that injustice can continue to be combated with passion. To do this, it’s important to take breaks from social media, our phones, and television. Many of us are using our phones the entire day, and consequently, we become consumed with the news, and eventually desensitized to tragedy. This is especially hard during a pandemic when meeting other people is difficult, but making time for human interaction, whether it be virtual or safely in-person, is important to living outside of the news-bubble that social media has created.
The world that the news describes in its articles, headlines, forums, and broadcasts is very much real, but the constant overexposure to news has caused many to have trouble grasping the reality of tragic events. Desensitization can be fought with breaks: we can have lives away from our phones and the news. After all, we are still humans.
Photos: Her Campus Media