The Paradox of Negative News:Disentangling the Dual Role of Negativity Bias in News Selection and Avoidance

The role of negativity in the news remains a puzzle in communication research. While some studies identify a negativity bias in news selection, showing that it fosters engagement, other studies identify negativity as a main reason for news avoidance. We argue that both tendencies are present but depend on time: while people at first are likely to be more attentive to negative news, accumulative exposure may lead to avoidance. To observe these potential within-person dynamics, we conducted a naturalistic online experiment using a social media feed where we tracked user behavior in response to real-world news, automatically classified by valence. Results show the negativity bias is short-lived: at first participants were more likely to engage with negative news, but this advantage faded after a few seconds, while positive news resisted better the natural decline in engagement over time. These findings help reconcile contradictory insights from prior research and have practical implications for news organizations seeking to balance audiences’ interest in negative news with the risk of fostering news avoidance on social media platforms.