On a balanced news diet for good mental health

Those who know me, know that I'm a huge fan of keeping on top of the news. My day starts and ends with a solid meal of local, national, and international news sources ranging from the (soon-to-be defunct) Burnaby Now to the Vancouver Sun, Houston Today, CBC News, Global News, G&M, BBC, and the Financial Times, usually with a dessert of various other major sources from around the world.

I've written & taught about how important reading the news is for those who hope to do well in both business and economics. I've created videos about the use of news sources when researching corporate strategies. I've published many blog posts about the SFU Library's collection of news sources & databases such as the Financial Times, Factiva, Canadian Newsstream, Nexis Uni, and PressReader, and I've highlighted our deep archives of many key news sources here at SFU in my research guides.

And yet... even I have to admit that this sort of all-you-can-eat buffet approach to the news may not be great for mental health, at least not during these chaotic times. That's why the following HBR article about the value of a news diet caught my eye: 

   How to keep up with the news without getting overwhelmed  

Curious to see what other advice I could find on the topic of a news diet, I ran a few quick searches...

• Four tips for a healthy news diet in 2024, from an expert in media psychology  (The Conversation)
  (see also When news is stressful, how do you balance staying informed with ‘doomscrolling’? from the same source)
• How good is your news diet? - Is working on our "news literacy" a moral obligation?  (Psychology Today)
  (see also Why you need to go on a news diet? from the same source)
• Creating a balanced news diet (UCLA STAND (student mental wellness resource))
• A guide to developing a healthier news diet (PEN America)

Back to the original HBR article that got me thinking about all this... I see that the same author has written a version aimed at instructors and students. News is integral to teaching and learning in fields such as business & economics, so it's especially important that instructors help students learn to manage a healthy news diet.

I know it can be tempting to either completely avoid all news during times like this or to only monitor highly partisan sources that tell you what you want to hear, but consciously & strategically adjusting your news diet is better for you in the long run. 

Stay informed & stay healthy!

-- Mark
___________
Mark Bodnar
Economics & Business Librarian
mbodnar@sfu.ca