Negativity Bias
“Negativity bias” — a phrase that I was blissfully ignorant of before 2020, much like “social distancing,” “artificial intelligence,” or “influencer” — to name a few. It basically means that negative news and events elicit a stronger emotional response from people than positive ones. Large companies pay psychologists to report what makes the general population tick, and weaponize these findings to their advantage. This is a lot more sinister than it sounds.
The media was originally molded to inform the general public about what’s going on in society. Who? What? Where? When? And last but not least, why? The root motivation of journalism is to seek the truth and report these truths to the public. This means hurting feelings and perhaps, making enemies with very powerful people. Therefore, the media alone doesn't control the mind or our behavior. The best way to manipulate a population through media is to spread anger and apathy. Anger turns neighbor against neighbor. Apathy puts everybody else to sleep. Division and conquest condoned by an apathetic majority. Truth seekers reject both, but are reduced to a fringe minority. They are considered eccentrics at best, and burnt out nihilistic freaks at worst. They become martians on their own planet. Their sanity drives them insane. It’s like taking a hit of the most atrociously bad acid known to man in the middle of Times Square on a Monday afternoon.
