Bad news everywhere – is the world really that bad?

It seems familiar to you: The alarm clock rings, you reach for your mobile phone in half-sleep – and zack, the first terror message jumps towards you.

Even before the coffee has gone through, you know about wars, climate catastrophes and political scandals. And in the evening, if you really want to relax, scroll from one tragedy to the next on Instagram or TikTok. Welcome to the Doomscrolling – the endless whirlpool of negative news that pulls us down.

But is the world really as bad as it feels in these moments? The short answer: No. The long answer begins in the Stone Age. I'd like to take you with me:

Promoting your digital resilience

Fortunately, resilience is not innate, but can be acquired, strengthened, learned. This applies to health resilience, i.e. our psychological resilience to stress, as well as digital resilience. But as promised, let's start in the Stone Age.

Why Our Brain Loves Bad News

Imagine you are a Stone Age man. If it rustles in the bushes, you must be immediately alerted or it could be your last day. Failure to detect threats was fatal. This is why our brain has the so-called Negativity bias Developed: We pay more attention to the negative, react more strongly to it and remember it longer.

Today, saber-tooth tigers are no longer lurking, but headlines and push messages use the same mechanism. Media prefers to rely on disaster news (‘If it bleeds, it leads’), and social media algorithms amplify the effect – the more risqué the message, the more clicks and reach. For our ancient brain, this is a stimulus overload.

News consumption between stress and resignation

The permanent immersion in negative headlines can be psychologically stressful. Researchers talk about the fact that excessive news consumption can increase stress, anxiety and depression. Some people react with withdrawal: They completely hide news, a phenomenon that News fatigue is known.

It sounds harmless at first, but it's not necessarily. For those who permanently ignore world events run the risk of falling into a state of Learned helplessness to slide:
Everything seems immutable, we feel powerless and at some point turn away not only from the media, but also from social issues. This is dangerous for democracy.

Fake News and AI: More mistrust

As if that weren't enough, fake news makes things even more complicated. With artificial intelligence, photos, videos and texts can now be deceptively faked.

Media scientists warn of a ‘new dimension of the confidence crisis’. Digital resilience, therefore, makes our ability to handle such risks with confidence even more important.

The world is often better than we think

So gloomy the headlines seem: A lot of things are better than we think. Studies show that people tend to judge the world worse than it actually is. In Germany, many people are too high on unemployment or see the country as economically much weaker than it is. The truth: Germany has been one of the strongest economies in the world for years.

This means: We certainly have reason for optimism, but we often no longer see it in everyday news.

Digital resilience: What does that actually mean?

This is where the key word comes into play: digital resilience. It describes the ability to cope with the challenges of the digital world, be it information overload, cyber attacks or technological changes.

• For you personally means digital resilience, mastering digital technologies, reducing stress and protecting your mental health.
• For organisations It means securing IT systems, reacting flexibly to crises and remaining able to act.
• For the digital infrastructure It is about stability, self-healing and the ability to learn from disorders.

Digital resilience is more than just a buzzword. It is crisis preparedness, adaptability, security and the basis for not only persevering in a complex world, but emerging stronger from it.

Tips for more digital resilience in everyday life

Maybe you're wondering now: What can I do specifically to avoid being dragged into the whirlpool of negative news? Here are some tried and tested strategies:

• Make screen time aware: See how much time you spend on your phone – and think about what you'd rather use those hours for.
• Turn off push messages: This is how you decide when information reaches you – and not your mobile phone.
• Introducing fixed news times: Two slots a day are enough to stay informed without being permanently stuck in alarm mode.
• Dropping Digital Ballast: Deleting unnecessary apps, taking social media breaks – this creates room for manoeuvre.
• Use grayscale: If the display is colorless, scrolling immediately loses its appeal.

You can find even more ideas at Vocer Institute for Digital Resilience.

Digital Resilience in Businesses

Not only do we as individuals benefit from digital resilience, but companies also have to arm themselves. Particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have learned, for example, from the coronavirus pandemic: Those who are digitally well positioned are better off through crises. Home office, e-commerce, digital distribution channels, all this has shown that Digital resilience and competitiveness go hand in hand.

But beware: Many measures were short-term emergency solutions. Companies are only truly future-proof if they use digital resilience as part of a long-term digitalisation strategy understand.

These include:

• Secure IT systems: Protection against cyberattacks, encryption, strong authentication.
• Digital sovereignty: Independence from large platforms and tech companies – e.g. through European initiatives such as GAIA-X or 8ra.com.
• Stable supply chains: With AI and predictive maintenance, failures can be detected early and production stops can be avoided.
• sustainability: Digital resilience is also ecologically important because resources can be used more efficiently.

For SMEs in particular, digital resilience means not only crisis management, but also innovative strength. It creates the basis for remaining flexible, acting independently and not being driven by external crises or platform giants.

Conclusion: Stay informed without sinking

The flood of bad news will not dry up. But we can learn to deal with it – as individuals, as a society and as a company. Digital resilience is key: It helps us to keep track, to cope with crises and to remain able to act in the long term.

So: Don't let the negativity bias of your brain trick you. Stay informed, but watch out for yourself. Only those who remain stable can act in solidarity and make the world a better place.

Sources: bwstiftung.de | wirtschaft-digital-bw.de | digital-resilenz.org