Current events involve a variety of factors such as weather, public-health alerts, travel disruptions, recalls, crime or civil unrest that can affect personal safety and property. Keeping up to date with these events has clear benefits, but also trade-offs as well.
In 2024, for example, a rare event like the death of a celebrity could generate huge news headlines. But in most cases, people are more likely to encounter a more common threat such as a car accident or a house fire.
As a result, it is important for mental health professionals to help their patients size up the relative risk of different events. It can also be helpful to talk about the impact of media coverage, which can influence how current events are perceived and interpreted by the public.
For example, when the media reports a story about a police officer being accused of excessive force, this may cause a person to question whether other officers may be doing the same. In addition, the media often frames or focuses on certain aspects of an event and plays down other information, thereby influencing how it is perceived.
This dynamic is also evident in the way in which current events shift over time. In June 2020, for instance, a survey showed that 83% of Americans reported stress over the country’s future. This was fueled by economic turmoil, racial injustice, and the pandemic. By March of 2022, a third of adults reported that they were feeling strain from all these competing concerns.