{"id":8658,"date":"2026-07-21T10:25:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T08:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/?post_type=hbi-news&p=8658"},"modified":"2026-07-24T16:52:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T14:52:06","slug":"why-more-and-more-people-are-avoiding-the-news","status":"publish","type":"hbi-news","link":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/why-more-and-more-people-are-avoiding-the-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Why More and More People Are Avoiding the News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why are more and more people avoiding the news, even though they are generally interested in world events? This question is the focus of the NDR Info segment from July 19, 2026. Julia Behre<\/a>, a researcher at the HBI who studies media use in digital environments, provides a scientific analysis of the phenomenon of news avoidance. The segment was part of the NDR television program DAS! Rote Sofa\u201d on July 19.<\/p>\n

Click here to watch the segment on NDR Info in German: https:\/\/www.ndr.de\/fernsehen\/sendungen\/das_rote_sofa\/news-avoidance-nachrichtenvermeidung-hat-stark-zugenommen,dasrotesofa-2728.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Click here to watch the full episode of \u201cDAS! Rote Sofa\u201d from July 19, 2026 in German: ttps:\/\/www.ardmediathek.de\/video\/das-rote-sofa\/tagesthemen-moderator-joerg-schoenenborn-auf-dem-roten-sofa\/ndr\/Y3JpZDovL25kci5kZS9wcm9wbGFuXzE5NjM4Mjg2Ml9nYW56ZVNlbmR1bmc<\/a><\/p>\n

Julia Behre explains that active news avoidance has been on the rise for several years. This increase was particularly pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic. One reason was the strong, single-topic focus of the news coverage. Currently, 72 percent of the German online population avoids the news at least occasionally. The most common reason cited by respondents is that the news negatively affects their mood.<\/p>\n

These findings come from the 2026 Reuters Institute Digital News Report<\/a>, published on June 16. Julia Behre is one of the authors of the German part of the report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When asked if more positive news could be the solution, Behre points to a more nuanced approach. According to her, it is not just positive news that is crucial, but rather constructive, solution-oriented reporting. This, she notes, can help convey hope and a sense of self-efficacy.<\/p>\n

Image: Screenshot, edited with AI<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":8601,"template":"","categories":[145],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8658","hbi-news","type-hbi-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy More and More People Are Avoiding the News - Leibniz Institut f\u00fcr Medienforschung | Leibniz Institute for Media Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/why-more-and-more-people-are-avoiding-the-news\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why More and More People Are Avoiding the News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why are more and more people avoiding the news, even though they are generally interested in world events? 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