The negative focus of the media affects our world view by exposing people only to destruction and fear, and by keeping this negativity dominant in people's minds from almost constant airing on TV, in newspapers, on the radio, etc. We turn on the TV in the morning and see a couple of explosions in the Middle East, coverage of a local rape/murder trial, maybe some footage of children fighting over food and wasting away in Haiti, but why aren't we ever shown the more positive sides of these disasters? Is it because positive news doesn't have enough shock value? If they showed Red-Cross volunteers in Somalia or children going to school in Iraq, perhaps people wouldn't be as interested; the more shocking and disturbing the information, the more people will view it.
By creating this mass focus on negativity, the content of the media can cause depression or sadness, or even just an overall dark cloud over most people's lives, whether they are fully aware of it or not. Either way, this constant exposure is bad for both the mental and physical health of the population. Plus, the more people see sadness and negativity, the more they think about it; the more they think about it, the easier it is for it to prevail.
Good job! Good ideas and I never thought that maybe the media wanted us to be depressed ... now I am beginning to question that!
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