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Is The World Falling Apart? No, We're Just Paying Attention, Expert Says

By Linze Rice | July 27, 2016 7:04am | Updated on July 27, 2016 1:23pm
 Victor Ottati, a professor of political psychology at Loyola University, said though it may feel like there is more
Victor Ottati, a professor of political psychology at Loyola University, said though it may feel like there is more "bad news" than ever, advances in technology have likely just made it easier to know when bad things happen and things are not necessarily "getting worse."
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ROGERS PARK — Sometimes it feels like the world is falling apart. 

Local and international news reports of shootings, bombings, political mudslinging, natural disasters and just plain mean-spiritedness appear to dominate media — of which Americans consume an estimated 15.5 hours per person per day on average, according to a study by the University of Southern California's Institute for Communication Technology Management.

That's a lot of opportunities to hear about or watch horrific events happening both in our backyards and around the world. 

For some, it's been evidence the time is now to "Make America Great Again."

But Victor Ottati, a professor of political psychology at Loyola University, said a seemingly constant "bad news cycle" doesn't necessarily mean things are worse now than in the past — in fact, they could be better. 

One big reason: technology.

"We have to be aware of the issues, and in that way it's positive for our society that technology enables us to see all of this ... in some ways this prevents us from living in a state of denial," Ottati said. "On the other hand, it can also create the impression among the public this sort of problem is on the increase, when in fact it's probably always been a terrible problem — there may even be a decrease in the frequency of some of these things."

So What's With All The Bad News?

With the advent of recording devices like smartphones and the increased dissemination of information and news by way of social media, the exposure to media has exploded in recent decades.

To exacerbate the issue, the more news coverage given to an issue can increase its salience, bringing it to the forefront of media and political debate regardless of whether or not it matches reality, Ottati said. 

"We're getting much more visual coverage of these things that end up getting on to the news and various websites, and so while the objective prevalence might not necessarily have changed so much ... the subjective impression is that it's going up."

Though coverage of negative news can produce stress in people, the public is still better-off knowing what is going on so those problems and injustices can be addressed, Ottati said. 

"We didn't have iPhones to document every time an African-American was lynched in the old south," he said. "We just may be becoming aware of the magnitude of the problem; it's not as if the problem has necessarily gotten worse — it's probably been terrible all along and we're just now realizing it more."

How Does It Effect Voter Behavior?

Whether or not the public's perception of the prevalence of certain issues actually reflects reality, media has an influence on political attitudes and behaviors.

Violent topics given extensive coverage like terrorism, shootings and bombings are known to arouse fear and anger in people, which can in turn "magnify certain tendencies in peoples' psychology," such as being more "dogmatic, rigid and authoritarian" in their political and personal beliefs.

That affects the way how many people vote and who they vote for, he said. 

"More news coverage given to anything — whether it's the economy, crime, terrorism — it increases the accessibility of that issue in the minds of Americans," he said. "And therefore oftentimes they end up giving that issue more weight when they evaluate a political candidate."

Add perceived threat to ongoing media exposure and the need to stay informed on important issues, and you have a vicious cycle, Ottati said.

Ultimately, political campaigns that focus more on mudslinging and personal attacks that speak to voter fear and anger have lower voter turnouts, he said.

"There's this kind of illusion to this golden age of the past that I think people fall for, and sometimes it leads them to perhaps embrace politicians whose rhetoric promises to return us to some golden age of the past," he said. "It's a dream, it's not real."

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