Self-Preservation in the Digital Age: An Exploration of the Positive Utilization of News Avoidance

In recent years, the rapid development of the Internet has made it more convenient for the public to access all kinds of information. However, the number of people avoiding news is gradually increasing. The phenomenon of news avoidance is becoming increasingly common worldwide and is regarded as another challenge to the development of the news industry, leading to the decline of journalism's public nature. Nonetheless, the positive effects of news avoidance should not be overlooked. In order to explore the possibility of positive utilization of news avoidance, this paper defines the positive utilization of news avoidance by reviewing the existing literature based on the definition, classification, causes and impacts of news avoidance. The research finds that the public's short-term news avoidance behavior helps to reduce exposure to the news with negative content or of low quality, thereby effectively reducing the generation and development of individual negative emotions. That is, the public can achieve self-protection by positively utilizing news avoidance behavior.