#Oppression #InformationFatique #QuitNews
Information fatigue and news avoidance are impacting Hong Kong people's mental well-being: Psychiatrists
Every day, people in Hong Kong are bombarded by an outpour of news broadcasts. As many contents of these news are frenetically negative, citizens started evading news. Graduates of journalism, on the other hand, have become disillusioned with their future career.
Psychiatrists advised that getting away from these negative emotions is necessary to avoid causing mental disorders.
Among the 30 people interviewed by i-Cable News, the majority said they get by their spare time by watching TV dramas or barely "do nothing". While no one chose to cook, only two said they read news.
Ms Chan, one of the interviewees, commented, "There is no good news, especially during this period of time, there is a lot of pressure, and it seems that Hong Kong is trapped."
Another interviewee, Mr Hui mentioned, "Hong Kong is under a lot of pressure due to COVID-19. People don't want to pay attention to these news in their own time or on holiday."
Ms Kwok said, "there are too many negative news, I don't want to be dispirited by negative information."
Not only the general public wants to get away from news, a former journalist have also quited her job.
A journalism graduate, Algy explained, "I read only news titles as I don't feel like reading into details. Even when I am avoiding news, I still feel the growing negative ambience around me."
In late 2021, the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong surveyed among 1,066 respondents. Across all age segments disregarding their political stance, the growth in people quitting news is apparent.
Those who quitted newspapers have grown from 11.2% in 2020 to 23.6% in 2021. Those quitted TV news also increased from 13.2% (2020) to 18.8% (2021).
Most of the respondents claimed that the ongoing political conflict, the growing sense of helplessness after pro-democracy Anti-ELAB movement and information fatigue as reasons to quit reading / watching news. Experts call such phenomenon as #NewsAvoidance.
In the meantime, psychiatrists in Hong Kong also found growing cases in mental illness due to negative news contents in recent couple of years.
A psychiatrist said, "when people relates a news piece to themselves, e.g. the death toll of COVID-19, they are saddened and distressed. Such feel could linger for hours or couple of weeks."
An organisation specialised in psychological counseling said that about 70-80% of recent requests for help is related to epidemic news.
The organisation reminds the public to look after their mental well-being, and look out for symptoms like insomnia, poor appetite and sweaty palms. They are advised to seek professional assistance when needed.
#Lockdown #WFH #WuhanPneumonia #MentalHealth
Source: I-Cable News
http://cablenews.i-cable.com/ci/news/article/37/796250?utm_source=hk.iott.app&utm_campaign=share&ts=1646544444012
Information fatigue and news avoidance are impacting Hong Kong people's mental well-being: Psychiatrists
Every day, people in Hong Kong are bombarded by an outpour of news broadcasts. As many contents of these news are frenetically negative, citizens started evading news. Graduates of journalism, on the other hand, have become disillusioned with their future career.
Psychiatrists advised that getting away from these negative emotions is necessary to avoid causing mental disorders.
Among the 30 people interviewed by i-Cable News, the majority said they get by their spare time by watching TV dramas or barely "do nothing". While no one chose to cook, only two said they read news.
Ms Chan, one of the interviewees, commented, "There is no good news, especially during this period of time, there is a lot of pressure, and it seems that Hong Kong is trapped."
Another interviewee, Mr Hui mentioned, "Hong Kong is under a lot of pressure due to COVID-19. People don't want to pay attention to these news in their own time or on holiday."
Ms Kwok said, "there are too many negative news, I don't want to be dispirited by negative information."
Not only the general public wants to get away from news, a former journalist have also quited her job.
A journalism graduate, Algy explained, "I read only news titles as I don't feel like reading into details. Even when I am avoiding news, I still feel the growing negative ambience around me."
In late 2021, the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong surveyed among 1,066 respondents. Across all age segments disregarding their political stance, the growth in people quitting news is apparent.
Those who quitted newspapers have grown from 11.2% in 2020 to 23.6% in 2021. Those quitted TV news also increased from 13.2% (2020) to 18.8% (2021).
Most of the respondents claimed that the ongoing political conflict, the growing sense of helplessness after pro-democracy Anti-ELAB movement and information fatigue as reasons to quit reading / watching news. Experts call such phenomenon as #NewsAvoidance.
In the meantime, psychiatrists in Hong Kong also found growing cases in mental illness due to negative news contents in recent couple of years.
A psychiatrist said, "when people relates a news piece to themselves, e.g. the death toll of COVID-19, they are saddened and distressed. Such feel could linger for hours or couple of weeks."
An organisation specialised in psychological counseling said that about 70-80% of recent requests for help is related to epidemic news.
The organisation reminds the public to look after their mental well-being, and look out for symptoms like insomnia, poor appetite and sweaty palms. They are advised to seek professional assistance when needed.
#Lockdown #WFH #WuhanPneumonia #MentalHealth
Source: I-Cable News
http://cablenews.i-cable.com/ci/news/article/37/796250?utm_source=hk.iott.app&utm_campaign=share&ts=1646544444012