How to control what you see on TV and online

Every time I see a post from a news or entertainment source on Facebook with hundreds, if not thousands, of comments of “who cares” or “why is this news” I cringe. And this is why… by commenting – you will make it news again.  This happens a lot with the Kardashians. If I post about Kim’s new bangs and the post brings in 1,000 comments, I don’t care what the comments say. I care that I posted something that got a lot of engagement. If I post something nice that people claim they want to see, like a fun and positive story, but it gets 100 comments… what do you think I’m going to post in the future? Yes, another Kardashian story. Why? It gets more attention and that is the goal of any social media platform. I mean – just look at all the likes and comments below! So, if you don’t like what you see online in your feed. Ignore it. Don’t respond with why you don’t want to see it, because that boosts engagement and in the end, it defeats your purpose.

The same goes for what you see on TV. When I was out in the field reporting, so many people would tell me they are tired of seeing negative news and think we should do some more positive stuff. Well, then watch the little bit of good stories we do, then we will do more. What you see on TV is what gets ratings. What gets ratings, brings in money. So, if the numbers are higher when we’re talking about murders and corruption, then that’s what we will continue to do. When the numbers on those nice stories go up, you will see more of them. (And yes, we can see when you change the channel.) Remember, what you watch reflects the numbers. More people watch the bad stuff and that’s why it gets covered more. Sad, but true.

One more thing. Lots of positive things make the news or get shared online and so many people share those stories and post things like, “you won’t see this on the news” or “why doesn’t this get attention.” Well, obviously it did make it to some kind of news outlet, or it went viral, or it ended up making the rounds somehow. How else did you find it if you weren’t there yourself? Clearly – that is something that is being seen by a lot of people… Maybe you just missed it, or maybe you changed the channel ;)

So, to control what you see on TV and online:

1. Don’t comment if you don’t like it
2. Watch what you want to see more of
3. See where a story you like originated, and support the source