“Evening news is where they begin with ‘good evening’, and then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.”
–Unknown
The news cycle is awash with negative headlines. Plane crashes, mass shootings and oppressive laws consume my waking consciousness, seemingly from every angle. News outlets, social media and even the weather express bleak prognoses of unprecedented circumstances, with disheartening terms such as “bomb cyclone” or “school shooting.” More often than not, my response to this overstimulating world is dissociation.
In fact, it is not a subjective opinion that journalism centers around reporting on adverse topics. Negativity bias has been a long-suspected complication of the human condition. This theory was confirmed by researchers Marc Trussler and Stuart Soroka in 2014 in one of the first deception studies of negativity bias, according to the BBC.
The results were not necessarily groundbreaking, but compelling nonetheless: In a questionnaire, participants chose to read stories with a negative tone, entailing “corruption and hypocrisy,” as opposed to inspiring stories, or even neutral ones. Contrary to the data of the study, participants claimed that they preferred good news, even answering that the media was too focused on negative stories.
Thus, if a prevailing subconscious thought is that negative news is preferred reading material to positive news, then common economic theory would predict that major media would respond to this demand. In a New York Times article, researchers examined different news sources to determine the percentage of COVID-19 news that was negative. This idea of consumer demand for negative news is consistent with their findings: 87 percent of COVID-19 coverage in national news in 2020 was negative, as opposed to 51 percent in international media and 64 percent in scientific journals. Reasonably, major outlets have a better idea of the pulse of a large audience than scientific journals. In addition, many international media organizations have long-standing government funding, eliminating or greatly decreasing the focus on customer demand.
Now with online news sources and the increase of technology use, accessing the negative cloud of information is easier than ever, and because of this ease of connection, there is little doubt about the pattern of declining mental health over the last 15 years. According to the CDC, more than a third of high school students in 2021 (now college-aged students) reported that they experienced poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 44 percent reported that they persistently felt sad or hopeless during 2021. Even before the pandemic, mental health was declining: Persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased 40 percent for U.S. high school students between 2009 and 2019.
The mental health crisis for college students is even more real. A recent study cited by the Mayo Clinic found that, on average, 33 percent of students experience significant depression and anxiety. Frequencies of depression, alcohol use disorder and binge eating disorder are higher now than they were before the pandemic, according to the CDC.
But with all of these negative statistics come multiple resources that are available on campus for use. Vassar has multiple resources to help with navigating a gloomy world. The Vassar CARE (Case Management, Advocacy, Resources and Education) Office provides support for navigating health insurance and providing outreach to students in distress. Another resource available on campus is the HPE (Office of Health Promotion and Education), which works to provide an environment where students can learn academically and also become informed about a wide range of health-related fields, such as mental health and nutrition. Help can either be provided by a licensed social worker or by peers to promote or assist with obtaining a healthier lifestyle or environment. If one-on-one counseling is necessary, Vassar College Counseling Services (VCCS) can help. They provide free walk-in appointments, support spaces, crisis services, brief treatments, online resources and workshops to any student with any concern that needs counseling.
But reaching out to get help is not always easy. In an era of social media in which perfection is the norm, it can be difficult to discern what is real and what is embellished. According to Reviews.org in an independent study, one in five Americans admit to lying on social media, and 31 percent of Americans say that their social media accounts don’t accurately represent them or their lives.
The ease with which anyone can fabricate their own experiences can create a mental predicament for collegiate students, gamifying social media to create the best fake lives for themselves. When an unhappy spell arises, the pressure to make your own life seem better can lead to a spiral of declining mental health.
The transition away from home is not an easy process. Learning how to navigate a new social and academic environment is a large task, and it is easy to feel overwhelmed at times. Social media and constant comparison will not help anyone struggling with isolation.
The resources outlined above are all excellent support systems, but they can only do their job of bettering students’ mental health if they are utilized. The perfection outlined on social media only reinforces the stigma around reaching out for help. It is not easy to acknowledge and find support, but not staking your happiness on someone else’s artificial experience is an excellent first step.
In addition to all of the resources outlined above, there is an American Foundation for Suicide Prevention walk on campus on Sunday, April 16th. Please email Lmfreeman@vassar.edu for sign-up or with any questions.