News Fatigue Is a Gift to Tyrants and Terror Groups
Felice Friedson has a warning for anyone who scrolls past catastrophe with a shrug: bad actors are betting on your numbness. In this opinion essay, Friedson argues that the modern news cycle—fueled by nonstop video, graphic images, and algorithmic speed—can train audiences to treat mass death as background noise, a phenomenon often described as “psychic numbing.”
She points to a grim cascade of recent horrors: reported body bags in Iranian cities, construction workers shot dead in northern Nigeria, and a staggering death toll in Sudan. None of it erases the Israeli-Palestinian war or fresh attacks in Pakistan, she writes. The problem is the volume. Newsrooms are flooded, audiences are overwhelmed, and the public’s emotional defenses can harden into indifference—exactly the reaction totalitarian regimes, terrorist organizations, and armed factions want.
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Friedson argues that Iran’s regime has paired repression with internet blackouts, while the outside world too often looks away. When people shut out traumatic news to protect themselves, they may also become passive bystanders. Over time, she warns, empathy can drain out of public life—leaving societies colder, easier to manipulate, and less likely to rally when victims need solidarity.
She cites research showing that news avoidance is rising internationally, with many saying coverage leaves them anxious or powerless. News fatigue, she adds, is becoming a defining feature of how people engage with information—especially younger audiences who feel lost in the torrent.
Her prescription isn’t to binge doom or to unplug entirely. It’s to build habits that keep people informed without drowning them: Limit consumption to set times, strengthen education in global affairs, and balance hard coverage with room for what restores hope. Read the full piece to see Friedson’s case for staying awake—without going numb.
