Hi Neil, thanks for sharing your post and particularly your reference to the Taiwan study about altruism and constructive news and video games. Perhaps if I can get my son off Fortnite, he will be more likely to stack the dishwasher!
"Positive, uplifting news can inspire more altruistic action than news which leans more on negativity. This finding echoes research into the effects of consuming prosocial versus violent content in video games and entertainment: prosocial media is associated with increased empathy and helping behavior."
Hi Neil, thanks for sharing your post and particularly your reference to the Taiwan study about altruism and constructive news and video games. Perhaps if I can get my son off Fortnite, he will be more likely to stack the dishwasher!
"Positive, uplifting news can inspire more altruistic action than news which leans more on negativity. This finding echoes research into the effects of consuming prosocial versus violent content in video games and entertainment: prosocial media is associated with increased empathy and helping behavior."
Hi Emma, I really love this piece. So interesting to read your perspective on switching-off.
I also read the Reuters 2024 Report with interest, but I wonder if we lose something when we stop consuming mass media?
I looked at some studies on this topic in my post yesterday: Why Read The News?
There's lots of interesting data about empathy and altruism in the research. And most of it matches what Susan Sontag was talking about back in 2003.
I'd love to know what you think!
https://open.substack.com/pub/neildillon/p/why-read-the-news?r=1ok77x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false