The tendency of news media to focus on problems and emergenciesrather than good news has a negative effect on individuals and society. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Thanks to our smartphones and the 24/7

media

cycle, we seem to be constantly bombarded by the

news

and, unfortunately, most of it is about disasters,

attacks

and tragedies. It has been argued that

this

negative focus within the

media

has a detrimental effect not only on

individuals

but on society as a whole. Personally, I strongly agree. In terms of

individuals

, the effects of

this

overwhelming amount of bad

news

in the

media

manifest in changes to our well-being and behaviour.First of all, mental health can suffer. When a person is continually absorbing

news

about crime, accidents and terrorism,

for instance

, they may begin to feel anxious and fearful. In serious cases, they may even suffer agoraphobia or panic

attacks

as a result

. The sheer volume of bad

news

can

also

lead to feelings of hopelessness or even depression. The other issue is the changes in behaviour that stem from fear. After seeing hours and hours of footage of plane crashes or tsunami destruction, many people may feel reluctant to travel or simply try something new.

This

is a direct result of the

media

's bad

news

saturation. Obviously,

such

impacts

also

have a knock-on effect throughout society. As fear grows among

individuals

, so too does animosity, distrust, intolerance and, ultimately, conflict. Take terrorism reports as an example. When incidents

such

as 9/11 or the 2015 Paris

attacks

occur, the

media

runs footage constantly, and the coverage continues for days, sometimes months. In the aftermath of these events, public panic grows, and minority groups, unrelated to the incident, often suffer

attacks

and marginalisation. From an economic perspective,

this

fear-mongering can

also

lead to financial loss as people, crippled by anxiety, go out less and travel less frequently. In conclusion,

while

it is true that terrible things happen on a daily basis, it is the

media

's obsession with

such

tragedy

that is

problematic.

This

focus on negativity inevitably has serious effects on

individuals

' mental health and lifestyles,

as well as

the cohesion of communities.