Dr. Ariel Hasell, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Media, was recently quoted in an article published by The Detroit News. The article, titled, "How to deal – and not reel – from constant flood of information," explains how continuous consumption of news media can have detrimental effects and offers ways to manage consumption.
Dr. Hasell is quoted, "People are battling the desire to stay informed and to know what’s happening and that civic duty that a lot of people feel to stay informed, and the toll that being informed in digital environments can take." According to her, news fatigue "can really lead to news avoidance and disengagement and even defeatism – the idea that nothing can be fixed, so why bother."'
She also argues that, excepting vital safety information, "you don’t necessarily need to know everything that is happening, exactly when it is breaking” and that “[t]aking temporary breaks from the news, or limiting the time that you are consuming political content on social media specifically, can lead to more well-being.”
