If it bleeds, it leads

The industrial world has never been safer. But that isn’t what our brains are telling us.

Our anxiety is higher than ever. Many, if not most, believe the world is heading in the wrong direction.

To offer some perspective:

Our brains have a filter. That filter is pessimistic by design. It is how we have survived for as long as we have. To seek out what doesn’t fit in. To look for danger.

Next, good news doesn’t sell papers. The old adage, “If it bleeds, it leads” is what keeps us tuned in to see what can happen next. If we believed the world was safe, there would be no reason to keep scrolling.

Add in our social media/doomsday 24-hour news cycle, we are not designed to be flooded with this much negative news. Our heightened state causes us to fear what we can’t imagine.

And finally, most of us haven’t actually been to the other side of the world but that doesn’t stop us from being afraid of it.