There’s this concept called the Police Blotter Effect. Where constant exposure to negative news impacts your well-being and how you live your life. A belief that the world is more dangerous than it is.
For example, some people constantly monitor crime data in their area. The number of murders, muggins, assaults, rapes, theft, etc. This has disastrous consequences on their health. I know people like this. They drive the same route to work, to the grocery store, and back home, and that’s the whole map of their lives. They’ve never witnessed anything terrible. Nothing has ever happened to them. And still they’re afraid to leave the neighborhood, let alone explore the city, and the idea of leaving the country is unthinkable.
Their mind constructed this paralyzing fear of the world based only on negative data they are surrounding themselves with. It builds unfounded fear of people and hate toward society. The same happens when they try to stay on top of the news, which is mostly negative (bad news sells). These people create a world in their minds founded solely on gloomy information and start living their lives accordingly. Several studies have linked this behavior to anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. I’m no psychologist but this cannot be healthy.
Marco Polo crossed deserts and mountains toward lands his people had barely heard of. Magellan sailed into the open ocean with no maps, and he didn’t live to see the voyage finished. James Cook pushed past the edge of the known world again and again. They had no GPS, no weather forecast, no rescue, and no guarantee of coming home. They had every real reason to be afraid, and they went anyway.
We have the whole world in our pockets, and we’re scared to drive across town. The world is bigger, kinder, and far more beautiful than any headline will ever tell you. Go see it.