The Danger of the "News Finds Me" Mentality

What is the "News Finds Me" mentality?

The "News Find Me" (NFM) mentality stems from using social media as a news source. It occurs when individuals feel they don't need to actively seek out news in order to be well-informed; instead, they believe that they will be exposed to relevant news and information through interaction with their peers and other posts on social media.

Terms to know

What's the harm of NFM?

Practically every study that we've made analyzing and exploring the effects [of] the "News Finds Me" mentality tend[s] to be negative or [have] deleterious effects in the news ecosystem and the public informed society.

Homero Gil de Zúñiga, Ph.D., professor of Journalism and Media Studies at the Penn State Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications

Research tells us that when people primarily rely on their social networks and social media platforms for news, it can actually lower their political knowledge. To put it bluntly, the NFM mentality is a form of self-delusion.

In the past, people would consciously choose when and how they consumed news. They might read the newspaper with their morning coffee or sit in front of the TV after work to watch the evening news. This type of consumption was active. The NFM mentality, by definition, is passive consumption.

When we scroll through Instagram on our phone while we wait for the bus, we might jump from a photo of our sister's cat to a breaking news alert to an ad for new shampoo in the span of a few seconds. So, we are encountering information without the sort of deeper processing that might be involved if we actively sought out a news story and set aside time to consume it.

Many Americans don't trust the news media (listen to Episode 101: News Avoidance and Why It Matters), and social media is a way to avoid traditional news outlets. When people rely on social media for "news," they can be more often exposed to passively consuming inaccurate or misleading information.

The NFM mentality has been linked with political cynicism. This is especially true when we rely on our peers to provide political information. When we feel cynical, we tend to withdraw from the political process. As we lose civic engagement, we lose our voice in shaping our society.

The NFM mentality is a strong predictor of what's called homophilic behavior—this is a fancy way of saying, "birds of a feather flock together."

Divisions grow when people don't want to discuss or consume any information that goes against what they believe. They do not want to discuss issues with anyone who disagrees with them. They only want to talk to people that have the same beliefs and attitudes and do not welcome other perspectives.

When this happens, we also say that people are in an "echo chamber" or a "bubble," where they are only engaging with people and information that only reinforces their existing beliefs and worldview.

Social media news tends to be displayed in "preview mode," which bombs us with headlines, snack news features, and attention-grabbing text snippets. Because the information is so fragmented, we end up with only the broad idea of a story rather than a full detailed narrative.

Fragmented news

Dr. Gil de Zúñiga presented an example of how social media tends to fragment, or break-up, news. In News Over Noise, Episode 104, he described the morning news following the resignation of the UK's Prime Minister Liz Truss shortly into her term.

Daily Star tabloid headline "...lettuce celebrates victory as Prime Minister Liz Truss resigns" with video of portrait of Liz Truss and a head of lettuce in a wig among other stereotypical British tea items.

Answer:

When Dr. Gil de Zúñiga eventually saw this preview post about the resignation on his social media feed, it was from the Daily Star. The tabloid had pitted the PM’s tenure in office against the shelf life of unrefrigerated lettuce.

Without actively seeking out news from a trusted and reliable source, this was all the information Dr. Gil de Zúñiga would have encountered.

New York Times Headline "What Happened With Liz Truss in Britain? A Guide to the Basics?" with captioned photo of Liz Truss.

Answer:

Dr. Gil de Zúñiga actively chose to read the New York Times because he knew he couldn't rely on social media for news, and the reporting in the New York Times provided him with a solid understanding of the reasons for and significance of the resignation.

Read the article.

Can we break free from our echo chambers?

Thanks to Dr. Gil de Zúñiga's research, we know that the NFM mentality increases "flocking together," but even when we recognize that we are operating inside an echo chamber, we may find it difficult to break free.

Why? Because, essentially, humans are lazy by nature. We tend to seek information that won't create cognitive dissonance —that uncomfortable feeling we get when we have contradictory values, attitudes, or perspectives about the same thing.

When we encounter information that disagrees with our existing views, it requires the mental effort of trying to reconcile these contradictory thoughts and feelings, which can be daunting. It often feels easier for us to stick with what we "know."

While it might feel a little uncomfortable, there are techniques for breaking free. Some methods, as suggested in an article from Wired have to do with forcing your social media to show you content outside your norm. While others, encourage us to break free in a broader sense by actively seeking out different opinions, finding someone to play devil's advocate, and getting news from diverse sources.

What can I do?

Acknowledge the "News Finds Me" delusion

Realize that the "News Find Me" mentality leaves us feeling more informed than we actually are.

Consume news actively

"News Finds Me" mentality is passive consumption. To overcome it, work on actively engaging with the news.

Use social media to add to your news, not to replace it

Social media is not inherently bad. Consider using social media as way to enhance your news sources rather than relying on it as your only source for news. When you add social media content to news from other trusted sources, you can have a broader and more complete understanding of the news.

Listen & Subscribe

Listen to Episode 104: The Danger of the "News Finds Me" Mentality and subscribe to our News Over Noise podcast to continue learning how to balance staying informed while protecting your well-being and the public good.

Listen to Episode 104