Summary

This document provides some news reports about positive trends and stories. More content will be added as it becomes available.

There are two initial reports below that set the tone of this document. The focus is on underreported good news, misunderstood news, and ways the public may be coming to pessimistic conclusions.

Doom Scrolling

We know that bad news seems to get more attention than good news. It’s not just the fault of news outlets. It seems to be human nature to slow down when we see an auto accident. News coverage of tornados and the devastation of other natural disasters will result in much interest.

The trend of doom scrolling is when people get on social media and become engrossed with an ever increasingly negative stream of bad news. The algorithms keep feeding the person stronger and more addictive news as if it’s a drug.

So, news reporting that generally emphasizes bad news becomes even more concentrated in large distilled quantities.

This phenomenon is partly why it is common to have a pessimistic mindset, which leads to depression that results in lethargy and hopelessness. People who are discouraged, tired, and who don’t believe things can get better, are unlikely to try and make things better.

The Glass is Half Full … and also Half Empty

Those who are overly positive may be moved to inaction: “Don’t think of it as the lake being half empty from drought. Think of it as the lake being half full. Things will work out. They always do.”

We need a balance between pretending the problems don’t exist, and being overwhelmed to the point of inaction because the problems seem too big and impossible to fix. “The lake is half empty and there’s nothing we can do about it!”

There needs to be a middle-ground where problems are studied to determine causes. “Why is there such extreme drought and desertification? Why is more water getting used that ever before? What can we do to make a positive impact?”

This page attempts to provide some news stories that foster realistic outlooks and positive responses that might produce good outcomes.

News

The news below is listed in chronological order. So, if you visit this page again later, any new content will appear toward the top of the list.

PBS (27 May 2024)

The PBS video below is queued up to 7m 15s where the discussion turns to the topic of how presently a large number of people have incorrect understandings of the news. [Source]

Below is a visual from the video that provides some data about public perceptions regarding the state of the economy.

This is good news about the economy doing better than we thought… but possibly bad news if millions of people vote based on incorrect assumptions.

Angus Hervey (23 May 2024)

“The Good News You Might Have Missed” — Whether or not you believe the world is doomed might depend on where you get your news, says journalist Angus Hervey. He delivers stories of progress that mainstream media organizations missed last year — from advances in clean energy to declining rates of extreme poverty, crime and disease — and suggests we should pay more attention to such occurrences. “If we want more people to devote themselves to the task of making progress, then maybe we should be telling more people that it’s possible to make progress,” says Hervey. [Source]