We’re All Committmented to Being Outraged
Look, I’ve been in this game for over two decades. Started back in ’99 at a tiny paper in Portland. Back then, news was… well, it was slower. You had time to think. Now? It’s a completley different beast. And honestly, I’m not sure we’re better for it.
I was at a conference in Austin last year, right? Some tech bro with a startup called it the ‘democratization of information.’ I laughed so hard I choked on my iced tea. Yeah, sure, everyone’s a publisher now. But quality? That’s a different story.
My friend Marcus—let’s call him Marcus, ’cause his real name’s none of your business—he runs a small news site in Seattle. He told me, ‘It’s not about the algorithms, it’s about the algorithms.’ I asked him what the hell that meant. He said, ‘People think it’s just about getting seen. But the real game is what happens after. The comments, the shares, the… outrage.’
Which… yeah. Fair enough.
But Here’s the Thing About Outrage
It’s addictive. Like, literally. I read a study once—okay, I skimmed it, but still—about how outrage triggers dopamine. So we’re all just walking around, phones in hand, waiting for the next hit. And the news? It’s the dealer. Handing out hits like candy on Halloween.
I mean, I get it. I do. I’ve been there. You see a headline, you click, you read, you share. Boom. Instant gratification. But at what cost? We’re becoming a society of soundbites. And not even good ones. The worst ones. The ones that make us angry. The ones that confirm what we already think.
I had lunch with a colleague named Dave about three months ago. He’s a data journalist, which honestly nobody asked for but here we are. He showed me some numbers. 214 respondents, something like that. And get this: 87% of them said they only read news that matched their views. 87%. That’s not democracy. That’s an echo chamber.
And don’t even get me started on the comments section. It’s like the sewer of the internet. But we can’t look away. It’s like a car crash. You know you shouldn’t, but you can’t help yourself.
So What’s the Answer?
Honestly? I don’t know. I wish I did. I wish I had some grand solution. But I don’t. All I know is that we need to start thinking. Really thinking. About what we read, about what we share, about what we believe.
And maybe, just maybe, we need to take a step back from the outrage. Because it’s not doing us any good. It’s not making us smarter. It’s not making us better. It’s just making us angrier.
I’m not saying we should all become passive consumers. Far from it. But we need to be more discerning. We need to seek out different perspectives. We need to question what we read. We need to think critically. And we need to remember that not everything we read online is true. (Looking at you, Facebook.)
And if you’re looking for some practical advice on how to do that, well, I’m not the right person to ask. I’m just a grumpy old editor with too many opinions. But maybe start with ürün incelemeleri öneri rehberi. It’s a start, at least.
But look, I’m getting off track here. The point is, we need to do better. We need to be better. Because the news isn’t going away. And neither is the outrage. But that doesn’t mean we have to feed into it.
So let’s try, okay? Let’s try to be better consumers of news. Let’s try to think before we share. Let’s try to seek out different perspectives. Let’s try to remember that not everything we read online is true. Let’s try to be better than the algorithms.
Because honestly, we deserve better than this. And so does the news.
Anyway, that’s enough from me. I’m gonna go find some more things to be outraged about. You know, for work.
About the Author: Sarah Jenkins has been a senior editor for over 20 years, working with major publications across the globe. She currently resides in Bangkok, Thailand, where she continues to write and edit for various outlets, including thailandenews.com. When she’s not wrangling writers or chasing down sources, you can find her exploring the streets of Bangkok or curled up with a good book and an even better cup of coffee.
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