Posted on 06/05/2018 1:04:01 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
If you feel like there is too much news and you can’t keep up, you are not alone. A sizable portion of Americans are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of news there is, though the sentiment is more common on the right side of the political spectrum, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted from Feb. 22 to March 4, 2018.
Almost seven-in-ten Americans (68%) feel worn out by the amount of news there is these days, compared with only three-in-ten who say they like the amount of news they get. The portion expressing feelings of information overload is in line with how Americans felt during the 2016 presidential election, when a majority expressed feelings of exhaustion from election coverage.
While majorities of both Republicans and Democrats express news fatigue, Republicans are feeling it more. Roughly three-quarters (77%) of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents feel worn out over how much news there is, compared with about six-in-ten Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (61%). This elevated fatigue among Republicans tracks with them having less enthusiasm than Democrats for the 2018 elections.
Feeling overwhelmed by the news is more common among those who follow the news less closely than among those who are avid consumers. While a majority of those who follow the news most of the time (62%) are feeling worn out by the news, a substantially higher portion (78%) of those who less frequently get news say they are fatigued by the amount of it that they see. (Most Americans – 65% – say they follow the news most of time, whereas 34% say they follow only when something important is happening.)
Those less favorable toward the news media are also the most “worn out.” Eight-in-ten of those who think national news organizations do “not too” or “not at all well” in informing the public are feeling this exhaustion. This is somewhat higher than among those who say the news media do “fairly well” (69%), and much higher than for those who think news organizations do “very well” – of whom 48% say they are worn out by the news and 51% say they like the amount they see. This relationship between attitudes toward the news media and fatigue holds even after accounting for Americans’ political party affiliation.
(Overall, 17% of Americans say national news organizations are doing very well at keeping the public informed of the most important national stories of the day, while 24% say they do not too or not at all well; the largest portion, 58%, say the news media do fairly well.)
Some demographic groups – most notably white Americans – are more likely than others to feel exhausted by the news. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of white Americans express fatigue with the amount of news, much higher than among both Hispanic (55%) and black Americans (55%). Women are also somewhat more likely than men to feel worn out (71% vs. 64%, respectively). Those ages 65 and older are slightly less likely than those who are younger to express a sense of exhaustion with the news.
Ted Turner thought he was on to something when he started CNN-24 hours of News coverage! Yeah...uh...no.
I never watch TV news. Yesterday I was at my father in law’s house and he has NBC nightly news on and the top story was that Trump thinks he is above the law because he has the power to pardon himself. This is what passes for news these days. And they decry fake news as a problem but not their problem. No.
When did the rule of putting hyphens in every number take effect? You would think highly paid pollsters and writers would know that you don’t say seven-in-ten, you say seven in ten. There are two writers credited and they must have an editor, so at least 3 idiots worked on the article. I think they have nothing to do with their time if they are polling people about whether they are tired of 24/7 We Hate Trump.
Most of us are, that’s why I come to FR. For the News.
For 8 years of Obama and the last year of Bush 43 it’s been non-stop doom & gloom, end-of-the-world headlines. Even more now.
It’s almost as if it’s done on purpose to wear out the conservative population. Like being a soldier on 24/7 Red-Alert status.
The media is exhausting people with their coverage.
Don’t follow the news, just check FreeRepublic once a day or so to stay informed.
Freerepublic is my news. I also check in to Democratic underground on occasion to see what is making them profanely emote. Once the coverage of the Sept 11, 2001 islamist attacks waned I stopped watching any TV news out of the expectation it would just be more ‘Gary Condit’ 24/7.
Journalism is bad news. Journalism is negative. Journalists claim to be objective, knowing that they are negative. This could only be true if “negativity is objectivity.” But the conceit that “negativity is objectivity” is cynicism.Journalists are cynical towards society and (concomitantly, in that flaws in society are the very reason for existence of government) naive towards government. Just like any other socialist.
Anyone who realizes that has “news fatigue” - a “malady” from which I have suffered since the Carter era.
I can’t remember the last time tuned in to a TV or Radio news program, hell I don’t even read the paper anymore. And you know what, I like it!
Hahaha...we ALL have our priorities, eh?
I wonder where freepers fit in that analysis?
I don’t go to a lot of places for news. I got to FR, and see articles from many places. So my search cost for news is not high.
However there is a lot of news and a lot of non-news and a lot of fake news.
For example, how many articles have we seen on Trump’s ability to pardon himself? That’s not news. It’s very unlikely hypothetical musings. If they started in July 2016 it’s been 2 years and they got nada.
SCOTUS ruling on the cake was news, but it took 4 or 5 articles before the implications of the ruling became clear.
That was it.
Heh, I was looking for a political cartoon that illustrated my feelings perfectly (By Eric Allie, who was/is one of the most accomplished political cartoonists alive) and was unable to find it, but I did find this flow chart I had made which showed how I saw the whole thing (I think it might have been made sometime after Patrick Kennedy who was driving drunk and blamed it on Ambien back in 2006)
Ha that flow chart is exactly right. Bu the really depressing thing about it is that they do that garbage to actually affect only around 10% of the voters—the absolute dumbest voters who can be swayed and who supposedly decide all elections. The swing voters.
Freegards
Now THAT is depressing to consider. Their vote cancels out me.
And you.
No matter the result, the dumbest 10% or so supposedly decided it based on who swayed them by political ads and rhetoric. It’s horrific. It isn’t based on the % of folks who can actually describe their political philosophy rationally and base their vote on the candidate who is closest to it. It’s based on folks who can’t do that, and who are swayed because they are stupid.
Freegards
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.