5 Good Things Caused By 2019 Novel Coronavirus

[sigh…] I know. By now most of us are existing in a seemingly endless state of anxiety. And while COVID-19 panic is certainly not the answer, neither is partying on the beach as if people aren’t dying.

Our collective anxiety, whether it’s about the virus itself or its damage to the economy, is understandable in an age of 24-hour news coverage. For those of us old enough to remember the post 9/11 news coverage, there is a familiar feeling of nostalgia.

Still, there is an old saying in the newspaper industry, which adapts extremely well to our modern, ultrafast age of information:

“If it bleeds, it leads.”

This is a reference to the media, in any form, using fear and despondency to keep viewers tuned in.

Why?

Two reasons: First, the “news” is a money-making industry — advertising dollars need to be made. But more alarming is the simple truth that most humans, psychologically, respond more emotionally to bad news over good.

According to Psychology Today, the distressing fall-out from this trend is that children and adults who are exposed to fear-based media are more likely than others to

• Feel that their neighborhoods and communities are unsafe
• Believe that crime rates are rising
• Overestimate their odds of becoming a victim
• Consider the world to be a dangerous place, instead of this…