According to new research published in Communication Research, people who obsessively consume news are more prone to political hostility. The study shows that those who lose themselves in political news are more likely to see opponents as enemies, leading to hostile actions such as online fights. However, individuals with higher levels of mindfulness are less likely to fall into this pattern, suggesting a way to reduce political tension.
News outlets often exaggerate political conflict, presenting a world where opposing sides seem to be locked in never-ending battles. These portrayals can have real consequences for viewers. Some people may become so absorbed in these news narratives that they see the political landscape as a battlefield where the “other side” is a threat, fueling anger and aggressive behavior. Given the current climate of rising political tension, the researchers wanted to understand whether problematic news consumption contributes to this hostility.
In addition, the researchers aimed to explore the role of mindfulness in mitigating these effects. Mindfulness, which involves being aware of the present and less reactive to external stimuli, has been shown in other studies to reduce unhealthy behaviors like internet addiction and excessive smartphone use. The researchers hypothesized that mindfulness could also protect individuals from developing problematic relationships with news consumption, preventing political hostility from escalating.
“Following the news has always been considered an important civic duty, but it is easy to look around and see that, for many people, news consumption isn’t healthy, it’s a problem,” said study author Bryan McLaughlin, an associate professor at Texas Tech University. “We became really interested in this idea that people can develop a relationship with the news that is almost like an addiction. Following this initial observation, we’ve sought to learn more about the individual and societal consequences of having a problematic relationship with the news.”
For their research, Mclaughlin and his colleagues first conducted a cross-sectional survey in the summer of 2021. The researchers recruited 1,100 U.S. adults, intentionally oversampling people who strongly identified with a political party. Of this group, 870 participants self-identified as partisans, meaning they had strong political allegiances, which made them particularly relevant to the study’s focus on political hostility.
The survey used multiple measures to assess the key variables in the study. Participants were asked about their levels of problematic news consumption (PNC), which was measured using 17 items that captured how absorbed they became in the news, how much the news interfered with their daily lives, and how frequently they checked the news. The researchers also measured political hostility, using questions about participants’ acceptance of aggressive behavior toward political opponents and their actual engagement in hostile activities, like flaming (insulting or mocking others online) or having conflicts with friends or family over politics.
Additionally, they measured mindfulness, which was assessed through questions about the participants’ ability to stay present and aware in their everyday lives. Lastly, the researchers evaluated participants’ conflict-approach orientation, a personality trait that gauges how comfortable people are with conflict. Some people avoid conflict, while others actively engage with it.
The findings showed a clear relationship between problematic news consumption and increased political hostility. The more absorbed people were in the news and the more it interfered with their lives, the more likely they were to endorse and engage in hostile political behavior. Additionally, mindfulness was found to have a protective effect: individuals with higher levels of mindfulness were less likely to develop problematic news consumption patterns.
Furthermore, the relationship between problematic news consumption and political hostility was especially strong for individuals with a high conflict-approach orientation. These individuals, who were more comfortable with confrontation, were more prone to act out their political hostility when they were deeply immersed in political news.
Building on these findings, the researchers conducted a subsequent study to explore these relationships further using a longitudinal approach. The second study involved a two-wave survey conducted in the fall of 2022, with an initial sample of 1,800 U.S. adults. Of these, 852 participants completed both waves of the survey, allowing the researchers to track changes over time.
The longitudinal design also allowed the researchers to control for participants’ prior levels of political hostility, making it possible to examine how changes in news consumption habits over time might influence future hostility. In other words, the study helped rule out the possibility that individuals who were already hostile were simply more likely to engage in problematic news consumption.
The results largely confirmed the previous findings. The researchers found that participants who exhibited higher levels of problematic news consumption in the first wave were more likely to endorse and engage in hostile political behaviors in the second wave. Mindfulness again acted as a protective factor. Those who scored high in mindfulness, particularly in terms of being aware of the present and not being overly judgmental, were less likely to develop problematic news consumption patterns and, consequently, less likely to engage in political hostility.
“When people get too caught up in the news, to the point that they can’t stop thinking about it and it is interfering with other aspects of their daily life, it can end up making them more hostile toward those who hold opposing political views,” McLaughlin told PsyPost. “This appears most likely to occur among people who are generally more comfortable with confrontation. On the other hand, we find that being more mindful—that is, focusing more attention on the here and now—can help ground people and make them less likely to develop a problematic relationship with the news.”
But there are some caveats to consider. While the second study used longitudinal data to track changes over time, it still cannot definitively establish causality between problematic news consumption and political hostility. Experimental studies are needed to confirm whether problematic news consumption directly leads to increased political hostility or if other factors are at play. Additionally, the types of news consumed were not analyzed in detail, limiting the ability to determine how specific news sources or content might contribute to hostility.
Despite these limitations, this study provides a valuable framework for understanding how an unhealthy relationship with the news can foster political animosity and suggests that mindfulness could be a key tool for reducing this hostility.
“Our goal is to keep learning more about problematic news consumption, including its causes and consequences, as well as what can be done to help address it,” McLaughlin said.
The study, “Living in a (Mediated) Political World: Mindfulness, Problematic News Consumption, and Political Hostility,” was authored by Bryan McLaughlin, Melissa R. Gotlieb, Devin J. Mills, Michael J. Serra, and Joshua Cloudy.
