Pessimism Influences Our Viewpoint

Studies dating back several decades reveal a phenomenon unique to prosperous nations.  People tend to be pessimistic about their country and their world but optimistic about their own lives.  This dichotomy may appear at first glance to be a conundrum but experts have an explanation.

Many point to a 2013 groundbreaking study conducted by a Swedish statistician and public health expert Hans Rosling.  He surveyed 1,005 Americans on the issue of world poverty.  He was astonished to find only five percent of Americans correctly estimated the level of poverty.

In his research, Americans were asked if world poverty had almost doubled, almost halved or stayed about the same in the last 20 years.  The correct answer is extreme poverty has been reduced by one-half.  Most Americans estimated it was much higher, influenced by what they had read or heard.

The statistician's conclusion, supported by many other studies, is that people's pessimistic views often are unsupported by facts.  This is especially true in developed countries, where people generally have higher levels of income, increased security and  benefit from healthier living conditions.

Consider recent data from the University of Michigan, Haver Analytics and Deutsche Bank Global Research. For the first time millennials are less optimistic than those aged 55+ about the future.  Just 37 percent of people believe today's children will be better off financially than their parents.

Researchers concede there are depressing issues confronting the world: terrorism, conflicts, failing economies, drugs, student debt and many others.  However, these problems are often the subject of news reporting that inflates the risks and danger to attract viewers, readers and listeners.

Psychologists point to the media's infatuation with bad news.  Murders, accidents, bombings, natural disasters and scandals dominate the news.  The emphasis is on tragedy, despair and disturbing behavior. Is it any wonder Americans believe the world is crumbling beneath their feet?

Meanwhile, good news is usually ignored because the media is convinced people aren't interested.  Unfortunately, there is evidence to suggest the news cabal is correct.  Studies show Americans prefer gore and scandal to news about a good Samaritan, unless the individual is famous.

In 2014, McGill University conducted studies using eye-tracking equipment to discover what news stories their subjects preferred to read.  The results were eye-opening, pardon the pun.  The subjects preferred to scan bad news, although they professed to be more interested in good news.

To illustrate how news coverage impacts our view, think about airline crashes.  When a plane goes down, it generates a torrent of news coverage.  The result is that a sizable percentage of Americans believe air travel is risky (include me in that number.)  But the facts argue otherwise.

The National Transportation Safety Board estimates the odds of dying in a plane crash at one in 29.4 million.  By comparison, you have a one in 144 chance of being involved in a fatal car wreck. Air disaster news reports focus on fatalities without adding perspective on the relative safety of flight.

There are other influences beyond the media.  Many public advocacy groups have a vested interest in convincing Americans there are looming catastrophic consequences from pollution, climate change, social inequality, etc. etc. etc.  Frankly, their job is to scare daylights out of you to trigger a reaction.

Even well-meaning, non-profit organizations are guilty of overstating problems.  If you want to raise money, the issue to be solved must rise to a critical level to motivate people to part with their money. A tug on the emotional strings, alarming statistics and unsettling images are the grist of non-profits.

People might be reluctant to donate money to help poverty-stricken children.  But tell them millions of kids go without food every day and show videos of babies with swollen bellies and people are more sympathetic.  Often perspective is missing in the message.  People are being manipulated.

A better example may be economists and stock market analysts.  They are unrivaled pessimists.  Even with the economy improving, they now worry about wage hikes.  Shouldn't that be good news for workers?  Not in their view.  More pay means higher prices and inflation, they grouse.

No wonder Americans and people around the globe are pessimistic about their world.  They are being bombarded with distressing news, gloomy predictions, worst case scenarios and an endless list of problems.  We all need to gain more perspective and obtain factual evidence to better assess reality.

One solution is to stop watching, reading and listening to the news around-the-clock.  Being informed is healthy, but being saturated with woe and torment is a prescription for depression.  We should all strive to be rational optimists, adopting a view that no problem cannot be solved over time.

The alternative is to wallow in our agony as we are reminded daily that our planet is in a mess.  This world and nation of ours are far from perfect.  But our planet has survived devastating wars, famines, natural disasters, genocides and epic diseases.  That should give us hope for a bright future.