Bad news and why we love it

FOCUSING ON NEGATIVE ISSUES IS A NATURAL INSTINCT

Schadenfreude refers to taking part delight in bad news... most of us are ashamed of it HILDA BURKE PSYCHOTHERAPIST

AS a nation we are drawn to bad news whether it is an earth-shattering event dominating the headlines, a write-up on someone’s downfall or a theory that a new invention will bring nothing but trouble.

That certainly seems to be the case with the new smart meters the government would like to offer to all GB households by 2020.

Bad news gives those who are against the new meters the chance to criticise these innovative devices as well as stir up suspicions of the government and big businesses to create an unfounded conspiracy theory that those in power are just trying to rip customers off.

So what is it about negative news that we are instinctively drawn to?

Could it be that human beings are drawn to negative articles and have a strong urge and a morbid curiosity to unravel the mystery behind the theories presented to us.

Psychotherapist, Hilda Burke, certainly thinks there could be some scope in this.

She says: “There’s a German word ‘schadenfreude’ which refers to taking delight in other people’s bad news. It’s a part of human nature that most of us are ashamed of.

“Most of us won’t admit to this and it’s often subconscious but it’s there.”

Burke’s theory is backed by Harley Street psychiatrist, Dr Raj Persaud, who believes our fascination stems back to caveman times and being hyper vigilant to danger.

He said: “It is pivotal to the evolution theory that in order to survive you have to focus on danger.

“If you ignore it, historically you won’t survive and this has been passed down through generations.

“Bad news is often connected to something dangerous, so it is a positive thing and a natural instinct to take an interest in those stories or events to ensure you can overcome them.”

The Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman was one of the first to note that humans have a tendency to give far more attention to negative details than positive ones.

Afterall, someone taking part in a stupid act or something going terribly wrong generally attracts greater interest than a new and innovative invention such as smart meters. “We’ve come to learn to be suspicious of news,” says counsellor and psychotherapist, Katerina Georgiou.

“I think over time, we have polarised the news between brilliance and horror. In relation to smart meters, what we have here is a projection on to the government.

Leaders and heads of organisations are always going to be the perfect people to project on to for all society’s ills. There is always going to be a human desire to topple down power.”

“It’s a process that happens on this mass news level, but it’s a process that happens on a personal level between people all the time also.”

So maybe the pull is to find out whether smart meters can really cause a cyber attack, result in an electrical fire or produce inaccurate readings that can inflate a customer’s bill.

Reacting to bad news is human nature that we’re all guilty of but it’s important to look beneath the headline at the facts.