News avoidance

News avoidance is a matter of concern if it means that citizens are not sufficiently equipped to take decisions in elections or referendums. There are two distinct types: avoidance stemming from the depressing nature of the content itself and avoidance due to disapproval of the news media more broadly.

In a 2018 survey, the most frequent reasons given for news avoidance were:

• negative effect on their mood
• distrust media / doubt truthfulness of news
• nothing I can do about it
• upset by graphic images
• lead to arguments
• disturbed ability to concentrate on more important things.

Countries that are undergoing considerable economic and political turmoil reported a higher level of new avoidance than stable and prosperous countries.