The internet is a world of non-stop information, available largely for free. On nearly any topic, we can access a full spectrum of viewpoints—though some resonate more than others. In general, the most viral are the most negative, alarmist and extreme.

This is how we come to believe things are worse than they really are and that the world is going downhill, even as statistics prove this is often far from the truth.

The number of people living in poverty has dropped by 20 per cent in the past 40 years. The global infant mortality rate has fallen by 60 per cent over the past 50 years. Average life expectancy worldwide has risen by 30 per cent since the 1960s. The number of people per million who have died in armed conflicts decreased from 235 in 1950 to 2.5 in 2007, despite a rise in local conflicts. The percentage of people with access to sanitation has increased by 50 per cent since the 1990s, and rates of new HIV/AIDS cases are declining globally, as has incidences of cancer in developed countries.

The list of improvements goes on, yet according to a public opinion survey conducted in 38 countries, these positive statistics don’t seem to register. Most people mistakenly believe that rates of violent crime and terrorist attacks are significantly higher than they actually are, or that teen pregnancy rates are much higher than reality (often with 40 per cent difference between the perceived and real number of pregnancies). People also tend to overestimate the number of smartphone owners or Facebook users (with 60 per cent differences between perception and reality, in both cases). Why are our perceptions so persistently inaccurate and overwhelmingly negative? Experts explain that the cognitive biases we’ve developed as a society now work against us in the digital age.

Our Tendency To Generalise

First described in 1973 by psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, the tendency to believe that the last piece of information we encounter represents a common reality is a prime culprit in today’s world of limitless information exposure. This tendency helps explain why people fear shark attacks more than drowning, despite the far greater risk of the latter, or why they dread terrorism more than aviation accidents—even though the statistical risk of dying in a plane crash is higher. It also sheds light on why parents are increasingly reluctant to let their children play outside unsupervised, despite this being one of the safest eras in history for children, according to Christopher Mims for The Wall Street Journal.

The media has long capitalised on this bias since the birth of sensationalist journalism but the internet amplifies it by making every terrorist attack, child abduction, jogger homicide and assault seem as if it happened in our own backyard. The notion that anything can happen to anyone has never felt more resonant than it does right now.

Our Tendency To Exaggerate

This tendency, as old as storytelling itself, underpins many of the enduring myths in history and is a hallmark of great narrators. A positive story is glorified, a negative one gains horrific elements and so on. In today’s online landscape—more accurately described as the “attention economy, “where everyone competes to capture as many people’s attention for as long as possible—this tendency to exaggerate has itself become amplified. “Our audiences are getting larger and larger, so the trend is to push things to extremes to capture their attention,” says Professor Jonah Berger, an expert in idea dissemination. “Things can no longer be simply engaging; they must be extremely engaging.”

Content that can evoke both strong positive and negative emotions simultaneously has the best chances of going viral. For instance, a story about a child’s kidnapping evokes both anger and a sense of moral superiority. By sharing it, people feel they are contributing to child safety everywhere. “It’s a potent mix of outrage and virtue,” says Lenore Skenazy, president of Let Grow, which advocates for greater independence in children’s lives.

Our Tendency To Always Be Right

This tendency to seek out information that confirms our pre-existing views—while ignoring contrary evidence—is well-known and extensively studied. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explains in The Righteous Mind that our moral judgements often stem from gut reactions. We tend to first answer, then seek rational explanations to justify our answers. If your initial reaction to this article was, “No, things really are getting worse—I’ll find some stats to prove it,” then it’s worth recognising that response as part of the problem.

Social media algorithms, whether by design or not, amplify this tendency and tend to sort us into “information bubbles”—feeding us content that aligns with our interests and beliefs. Applied to more than two billion people worldwide, this has led to unprecedented polarisation of public opinion. This effect is further intensified by the fact that despite the perception of a wide range of accessible information, we are often only exposed to a narrow selection. In such an environment, manipulation is remarkably easy.

Our Tendency To Idealise The Past

The past ain’t what it used to be. Paseism, the tendency to idealise the past, is an age-old habit, bringing up memories painted with nostalgia for events long gone. We put on rose-coloured glasses, exaggerating the good aspects of the past while erasing the negative ones. Part of this process is natural. As we age, we tend to remember positive experiences over negative ones. A 2005 study found that older adults manage emotions more effectively, in part because they retain a higher proportion of positive memories. The brain, says psychiatrist Dave Archer, has a bias for positive memories, even enhancing the good elements of these recollections while downplaying the bad.

It’s hardly surprising, then, that today might seem worse than yesterday. This perception aligns with two other tendencies: our natural inclination to focus more on negative events and potential dangers, and the belief that society or an institution is on a continuous downward path, regardless of statistics. Our brains process positive and negative information differently, with a heightened reaction to negative news, a key factor in why the media skews sensationalistic and pessimistic. Just consider the prevalence of headlines like “2017 was the worst year, but here comes 2018” or “Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse”. Little wonder that 63 per cent of Americans worry about the country’s future and 59 per cent “consider this the lowest point in US history that they can remember,” according to the American Psychological Association.

The cycle concludes with the fact that we require more evidence to believe things are improving, yet are satisfied with minimal proof to conclude they’re getting worse. A study published in 2017 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology confirmed this tendency. On one hand, this mechanism is helpful, allowing us to act quickly when we detect a decline. On the other, in the digital age, it can lead to thought patterns resulting in risky decisions. For instance, uncertainty observed in some of the 38 countries studied about the non-existent link between vaccines and autism—thoroughly refuted by the medical community—can affect both individual and public health. Believing other people think and feel as we do can lead to unexpected events we struggle to comprehend or process constructively, such as the 2024 election of Donald Trump or 2016’s Brexit.

Today, it seems that information itself has become the enemy of idealism. But if we could look just a bit further, perhaps by exploring the works of psychologist Steven Pinker—who illustrates how many of the negative factors clouding our thoughts and dimming our outlook have actually been declining for decades—we might gain a broader, more accurate perspective on our own lives. Neither Pinker nor others committed to this intellectual effort claim that major, urgent global problems have vanished or that new challenges aren’t emerging. Instead, we should make room for both truths: that we’ve come a long way, finding ourselves in a better place than before, and that there remains a long journey ahead with more challenges to resolve.

I don’t subscribe to the theory that humanity is on an inevitable path to utopia. Historically, human progress has often been accompanied by an increase in destructive capacities and by ever-larger issues affecting more people worldwide. Today’s environmental challenges—from plastic pollution to global warming—are prime examples. However, one of the major crises afflicting the modern world—chronic generalised anxiety and depression—can be eased, at least somewhat, through recognising and understanding our own thought patterns. This approach can help us grasp why we think the way we do and how we might unwittingly sustain a cycle of needless worry, blinding ourselves to the positives right in front of us.

Article supplied with thanks to Sign of the Times Magazine.

About the Author: Eliza Vlădescu is part of the editorial team at Signs of the Times Romania and ST Network.

Feature image: Canva

Have you ever felt that awful pang when you say “no” to your kids? They look up at you with those big, hopeful eyes and ask “Mum, can I watch this?” And suddenly you feel like the villain.

It feels like every other parent is saying yes, and you’re left wondering if you’re being too strict by saying no.

I’ll be the first to admit: navigating what our kids watch isn’t easy. I don’t always get it right. In fact, as a mum, I’m still figuring out what’s okay for our kids to watch. But lately, God’s been nudging me. Reminding me that I’m not just a movie monitor, I’ve started thinking of myself as their media mentor. 

We wouldn’t feed our kids junk food every night, right? So why would we let their minds feast on things that don’t nourish them? Just like we prepare nutritious meals for their bodies, we’re called to nourish their minds and spirits too.

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” — Proverbs 22:6 

In today’s saturated media culture, one of the most loving things we can do is become our children’s media mentors. Movies, TV, and tech aren’t just entertainment. They’re spiritual and moral decisions.

I think many of us have become afraid of “forcing” our kids to be like us, of being “too Christian” or “too controlling. But godly guidance isn’t force…it’s love. It’s walking beside them, helping them see the world through the lens of faith. Our kids don’t need us to be cool. They need us to be clear. They need us to be courageous; our God-given responsibility is to train them up, not just protect them, but prepare them. 

So, I’ve learned to be bolder. To say no with love and clarity. Not just “no, because I said so,” but “no, because I love you—and here’s why.” They don’t have to like it, but they do need to understand and accept it. Sometimes they roll their eyes. Sometimes they cry. But I’ve stopped apologising for protecting them. 

Here are a few responses that have worked well in our home:

• “Not yet- this has adult content that just isn’t age-appropriate.”
• “You can watch it in two years’ time, or we’ll revisit it when you’re aged 10.”
• “Yes, but only when Dad or I can watch it with you.”
• “I know it’s rated PG, and your friends may have seen it, but it’s not right for our family and here’s why. Let’s find something we can enjoy together.”
• “I’m not sure about this one—give me a few days to research or watch it myself, and I’ll let you know.”

It’s not about control- it’s about connection. About helping them think for themselves. We’re saying, what you feed your mind matters.

And let me tell you, nothing makes me prouder than when my kid comes to me and says, “Mum, I don’t think I should watch this because…” Or when he tells me he stood up in the schoolyard and said, “We don’t watch that—and here’s why.”

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” — Romans 12:2 

Before we press play, God has taught me to ask this: Does this line up with Philippians 4:8? Is it true, noble, lovely, admirable? Will it build my child up or just fill them with stuff? And when it’s over, we talk it out. We unpack the story, spot the gospel threads, and name the parts that don’t reflect God’s truth. It’s not just about saying yes or no—it’s about teaching our kids to think deeper, to see with spiritual eyes. 

So, be your child’s media mentor. Walk this journey with them at an age-appropriate level. Love them through their tech and film choices, and trust God do the deeper work in their hearts.

It’s a constant conversation. We won’t always nail it. But I pray that one day, when my kids are grown, they’ll look back and know I prepared them to make choices with Jesus in mind. They’ll look back and know I tried, even when it was awkward or unpopular.

So, keep going, parents. The battle for our kids’ minds is real, but God is faithful. He can help us lay a foundation that they can stand on.

“The most important work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own home.” — Harold B. Lee 

Article supplied with thanks to Rhema 99.7.

About the Author: Richelle is a radio host and mum of two, who supports parents and carers with faith-filled encouragement and practical insight.

Feature image: Canva