Social media and stress
How the culture of perpetual outrage causes some to be in a constant state of fear and anger, leading to significant health problems. It is not a healthy way to live.
Media: Everything is awful, scary, terrifying
How the media shapes your emotions – everything is awful, scary, terrifying, getting worse blah blah blah. This screen snapshot is from Drudge Report taken on July 15, 2025.
Social: Doctor fired after online posts
A surprisingly large number of supposedly smart people post things on social media – and end up being fired.
Climate: How not to do climate communications
After the attempted assassination of Trump, leading climate enthusiasts say Trump and Republicans are Nazis. Not an effective climate message.
Rent: Every year the media falls for this
Every year, an activist/lobbying group issues a report saying people earning minimum wage cannot afford to rent an apartment anywhere in the country. They play a sleight-of-hand trick by obfuscating (and not revealing) that they are saying such individuals cannot rent an apartment priced at the 40th percentile. Stated another way, this report finds – every year – that people earning minimum wage can not rent apartments priced in the top 60 percent of the market – yet obviously, lower earners likely rent at the bottom of the market, not the top. Every year, the media morons run the same story, never understanding what this report says.
Media invent scary term “Doomsday Glacier”
The media has run with this fake label “Doomsday Glacier” because it sounds scary, and the primary purpose of the media is to scare you to death which helps them get clicks and sell eyeballs to advertisers. The scientists do not like this label either.
NBER paper: Why Is All COVID-19 News Bad News?
91% of US news about Covid topics was negative – even when reporting on positive vaccine developments or low case counts in schools. The media learned that consumers demand negativity – I postulate this is because consumers who are suffering from hysteria and anxiety seek out news that confirms their anxiety, and that being anxious is okay.
Using social media to destroy your career
A medical professional posted on Twitter that she can and will withhold care from patients based on her perception of the patient’s sex, race and political beliefs. By Monday, her hospital bio page displayed “Page not found”. Far too many engage in inappropriate emotional outbursts on social media that have led to severe consequences, including being fired from a job.
How restaurants use music to manipulate your dining experience
Restaurants use an arsenal of manipulation techniques to encourage you to purchase higher profit items, and even to eat food faster so they can turn around the table to another customer, more quickly.
Self negating headline: “More than 70% of Black Americans don’t have wills.”
Surprisingly, the difference between different groups with a will and those without is very tiny and the gap is closing rapidly. But the CNBC headline chooses to spin this with an emotion-laden, inflammatory, click-bait headline.