In reading the news today, it became apparent to me that there are an overwhelming amount of Coronavirus articles in mainstream news that focus on information that is, essentially, useless.
Breaking news
X new cases of Coronavirus in city Y
Okay – so, uh, a lot more people are testing positive.
What do you want me to do now, besides feel more scared?
Lock my windows and doors even tighter?
Wash my hands some more?
Usefulness rating
Another example:
“I am going to the gym today and am going to do 50 push-ups there.”
Yes, you’ve gotten information on my whereabouts and what I’m going to do, but that’s about it.
What would be its ‘usefulness’ rating on a scale from 1 to 10? Probably a 1, or 2, tops.
How about:
“I’m going to the gym today and am going to focus on exercises that build my core, such as push-ups and planks. Here’s the source that I’m following for these exercises ..”
That is a bit more useful, wouldn’t you say? That probably has a usefulness rating of 5. But wait, a comparable article on COVID-19 might be too useful to post, perhaps. People can’t handle all that usefulness, remember?
That being said, let’s actually look at some articles that don’t just focus on washing your hands or sanitizing everything and your dog:
The headline for these would probably read something like:
Breaking news:
Here’s what you can REALLY do to protect yourself against the Coronavirus
Here’s what you can do to help yourself so much that these breaking news articles will stop because not only will confirmed cases stop rising, but you will feel better than you ever have in your entire life.
I’ll let you know once I find this. In the meantime, the above links will hopefully get you closer to that goal.