4. The Media Wants To Keep You Indoors
There’s an old adage that I may have just made up that goes something like, “A plane took off and landed on time at its destination is not a news story.” Guess what is a news story, though? Death and destruction. In the words of more eloquent folks than myself, “the media also can exacerbate fears that already exist, and create fears that didn’t previously exist. Airplanes are a golden topic for the media. Journalists know — the more we fear, the more we pay attention to the stories, and then the more we fear because we paid attention. The result is that we end up exposed to far more dramatic (and often un-newsworthy) airplane stories, as opposed to soothing stories that reinforce safety.”
5. Your Stupid Brain Wants You Indoors, Too
So, there’s this new theory emerging among psychologists called risk perception. According to recent reports, “Risk-perception studies have found that as our awareness of a risk rises … so does our fear.” In other words, when you’re looking at headlines and news reports that are devoted to covering the carnage, your mind is being alerted to a new potential threat. Unfortunately, your brain’s natural instinct is to fixate on any newly perceived fear. You are, sadly, your own worst enemy.
