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We Make Ourselves Miserable with Anger
If we only see the negative all around us, we make ourselves miserable. And what’s more, we’ll be less likley to take action for good.
Matthew Yglesias writes about this in a now-free post on his Substack. I recommend reading the whole thing, especially if you’re uncomfortable with the accusation that you do too much doom-scrolling. It’s not that you should avoid bad news, but that you shouldn’t drown yourself in it.
The main thing that has actually changed is that the media landscape has become much more competitive and people (yes, people like you) prefer to click and share on negative stories. So a lot of people spend time doomscrolling, amping up negativity on their social media feeds to maximize engagement, and propagating a worldview that says the best way to be a good citizen is to engage in performative sobbing or raging.
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