The infotainment industry is a dirty, dirty place, this much we’ve known for some time, but a new study out of Texas seems to indicate that the effect such media has on us is far more dire than originally believed.
In fact, watching too much cable news can lead to very literal health concerns.
Researchers at Texas Tech University found that Americans who obsessively follow the news are more likely to suffer from both physical and mental health problems, including anxiety and stress.
Those who constantly check the latest headlines end up with “significantly greater physical ill-being” than those who tune in less often, according to the findings. The team adds that constantly keeping on top of the latest developments can lead to a vicious cycle where people always check for more updates, rather than tuning out after a quick read.
The situation was rather dire.
Study authors found 16.5 percent of participants in their experiment showed signs of “severely problematic” news consumption. That meant they often became so immersed and personally invested in news stories that current events dominated their thoughts, disrupted time with family and friends, made it difficult to focus on school or work, and contributed to restlessness an inability to sleep.
And then came the real shocker:
Almost three-quarters (73.6%) with severe levels of problematic news consumption experienced mental ill-being “quite a bit” or “very much” compared with just eight percent of all participants overall. The study also found that more than three in five (61%) news addicts experienced physical ill-being “quite a bit” or “very much” compared with just six percent of everyone else.
The news comes at a time in which Americans are beginning to wake up to the idea that the media isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, and could help to steer some of us back toward a healthier relationship with the “news”.
