Here’s a new mental health phenomenon – the ABC News refers to it as ‘Eco Anxiety’; an alleged worry brought on by the looming fear of Climate Change. A recent segment on ABC News Live saw the Leading Weather Expert, Ginger Zee, promoting this narrative, using past weekend’s weather catastrophes as a backdrop. The story was presented not as a weather update or informative piece, but rather as a cause for public fear.
The segment concluded with host Diane Macedo mentioning the suicide and crisis hotline. The suggestion? Climate-related stress is comparable to severe mental health issues – a conclusion as absurd as it is unjustified. Macedo had linked last weekend’s severe weather to Climate Change, highlighting just how far the network was willing to go in its fearmongering.
The segment added further credence to the idea of Eco Anxiety, as Ginger Zee introduced Dr. Josh Wortzel from the American Psychiatric Association. Dr.Wortzel suggested that Climate Change might be causing a mental health crisis, particularly among younger generations who are speculated to have worries about their future.
With open-ended, subjective phrases like “mental distress” and “Eco Anxiety”, the media seems to have successfully managed to churn out a sensational, yet misleading narrative – one that inevitably sells.
The subject of this fear-laden feature? Young Americans, who claimed to be anxious about their future in relation to the weather. This narrative direction is not only disturbing but it further underlines the irresponsibility of the media in fueling baseless anxieties.
Let’s look at the facts. Anxiety, as defined by the American Psychiatric Association, refers to “anticipation of a future concern”. With incessant coverage of storms, weather changes, and other natural phenomena under the shadow of Climate Change, it doesn’t surprise that young minds find themselves anxious about it. However, to inflate such simple concerns to the level of suicide and major mental crises is both ignorant and absurd.
Mental health and suicide are significant nationwide issues that merit serious attention. Equating these pressing concerns with fears about climate change is not only an unacceptable conflation, but it also trivializes the graveness of the former. As disseminators of news, it’s high time reporters realized this.
In conclusion, sensationalism may sell stories, but it often veers away from responsible journalism. Instead of inciting fear with concepts like “Eco Anxiety”, media outlets should work towards fostering understanding, promoting well-researched facts, and focusing on educating the general public. Drawing disproportionate parallels between climate change and mental health issues is misleading at best and harmful at worst. Responsible journalism is the need of the hour, and it’s time that reporters understood and practiced this.
