Overexposed

When someone says the word overexposed I think of film, a bad picture. The film was exposed to too much of something that made it bad. Do we live in a world that is overexposed?

With so many social media outlets news of the world travels much faster than when I was little. Instead of the five o clock news or major headlines in the Sunday paper, we now know of happenings within minutes of the event. We are constantly inundated with the good, the bad and the ugly.

What are we doing to ourselves mentally by being that advanced in the know?

I once read a book on plants and their growth patterns when exposed to harsh music and language vs positive music and being told how beautiful they were. The plants in the harsh environment had stunted growth and did not thrive as the plants in the positive environment. If something as simple as a plant can be effected so negatively how do we think we as evolved individuals can thrive in a similar environment?

The world isn’t falling apart, but it can sure feel like it. The news can be violent, depressing and emotionally-charged.

Think of how many times a day you read something online that makes your blood pressure skyrocket. Now think if you were not overexposed to the same news how would your day go? You may believe that your day/mood is not effected by the things we read but your subconscious is still reeling and processing the information. How does this affect your health? Do you get stress headaches, anxiety, upset stomachs etc. from the negativity that is the news? Do you handle life situations better or worse when your mood has been set by something you have read? Are you subconsciously interpreting and acting differently with those around you?

According to Dr. Graham Davey, who specializes in the psychological effects of media violence, suggests that violent media exposure can exacerbate or contribute to the development of stress, anxiety, depression and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“Negative news can significantly change an individual’s mood — especially if there is a tendency in the news broadcasts to emphasize suffering and also the emotional components of the story,”  “In particular… negative news can affect your own personal worries. Viewing negative news means that you’re likely to see your own personal worries as more threatening and severe, and when you do start worrying about them, you’re more likely to find your worry difficult to control and more distressing than it would normally be.”

While the world is clearly not going to hell in a hand-basket, that is to be interpreted as you see fit, we definitely need exposure to positive news to outweigh the depressing and violent news we are exposed to daily. If this means putting down the phone or not looking at some news feeds then so be it. We must be responsible for what we are feeding our spirit daily and not allow the world to make us Overexposed.