Is media a way to cope, escape, be informed or none of these

Thomas Jefferson saw the press to inform, educate and hold power to account

 If your world is bleak, you are likely not to want to hear about other people's problems in great numbers, especially if their crisis is yours, according to research.  So what is news for people: a way to escape, cope or be informed?

Or is it just an exercise to claim your rights as a citizen in a democracy, reading how people express themselves, on what and how so that you can respond as well in comments that agree or sizzle with fiery discontent.

For the latter is how it seems, many people say.  Although some have examined the issue more closely through research on reading patterns.


These days everyone has an opinion about the news, it seems.  The political arguments are enticing at times, but at the same time people of all stripes seem to say they are tired of it too.

According to the research people use the media either to cope or to escape, depending on the problem.

A bad love affair is usually seen by most people as a major crisis in their lives. For that reason they may not be interested in reading informational articles about bad love affairs. On the other hand, financial difficulties are less personal in nature; and people often reach for information on to learn how to cope with them.

Results of a  study showed that emotionally -charged problems are the kind many people avoid reading about in the media if they are experiencing similar problems. But those difficulties that carry less emotion, as such as those financial problems, don't create the same responses and therefore people are more apt to want to learn how to cope with the difficulties.

Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, co-author of the study and associate professor of communication at Ohio State University, says, “People want to avoid reading about topics that may bring up unpleasant thoughts and emotions. But people seek out information that may help them find solutions for less personal problems.”

The study was conducted in Germany and the results are now in the journal of Communication Research. It involved 287 German college students where they took life satisfaction questionnaires and five areas that included health, finances, friendship, college and career and romantic relationships. In the second separate study they were asked to evaluate online news and magazine articles which corresponded to the five subject areas they were questioned about earlier.

Students were advised they wouldn't have enough time to read all the articles and to concentrate on those in which they had the most interest. The results of the study showed that people’s satisfaction levels in the life areas influenced what they read about. This substantiated the notion that some people will read or listen to news or information to escape while others will read to cope, depending upon the emotionality of the issue.

Those who write crimes news recognize how popular they are. Indeed many reporters want to cover crime stories for that reason, because they have enduring appeal. Why is that? Linda Heath, a university psychologist, answers the question following her research where she analyzed crime content in 36 newspapers and subsequently analyzed attitudes about crime in interviews. She learned that people enjoy reading about crime more for just the thrill. This is what she says:

"The more newspapers print articles about criminals in other places running amok, picking victims at random, and trampling social norms, the more secure readers feel in their own environments. In essence, readers like the grass to be browner on the other side of the fence, and the browner the better. Far from frightening, reports of grisly, bizarre crimes in other cities are reassuring. Readers are still exposed to some reports of crime that occur locally, but the severity and outrageous nature of such crimes appear to be judged in comparison to one's own life.

Crime is one of those areas of interest that allows people to escape as opposed to cope. Crime stories are often written in New England one wonders why that is. According to publisher Kate Flora in New England people experience long winters. So people there are trapped in close quarters together, which Flora says “can lead to dark, mischievous thoughts. “ Research reveals people use all forms of media for their own purposes. It is more likely than not that certain types of reading material or television news is enjoyed simply because it tells people their own lives may not be so bad after all while others find information they need to make their lives better.

These days many people get their news online.  And what online writers and editors have found is that many people will only scroll through half of an article.  They may read bits and pieces throughout the article, but ordinarily won't finish it, even when it is of special importance for the information contained within it.

And, sadly enough, the Pew Forum found that most people are not influenced that much by current news and information with respect to their knowledge of current affairs.

So when we talk about why people listen or read the news, we must recognize that each person finds his or her own measure of interest satisfied by it.

It seems the answer to the question about the media is that people use it in bits and pieces for coping, escaping or being informed and much too often none of the above and rather simply to reinforce pre-existing ideas.