In my opinion, the worst thing about television news is that it is so instant and that a lot of it is American-based. I am constantly telling my non-Western (i.e. Saudi, Iraqi, etc.) friends to not trust television news. It is very important to supplement what you see on television with other outlets (major newspapers, disinterested sources, etc.). It is also very important to train yourself to recognize logical fallacies and the like. Classes on critical thinking are pretty helpful.
It's more likely that people with mood disorders obsess over the internet, rather than the net itself making them depressed. Take IRC (not just aol chat rooms) for example: those who spend inordinate amounts of time chatting (idling/plotting world domination/etc) probably suffer from some kind of mental idiosyncracy (ie. depression). Instead of taking mental illness seriously (and doing something about it?) it's likely that many out there are looking to make excuses instead (and spend lots of cash on trying to prove silly things).
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In my opinion, the worst thing about television news is that it is so instant and that a lot of it is American-based. I am constantly telling my non-Western (i.e. Saudi, Iraqi, etc.) friends to not trust television news. It is very important to supplement what you see on television with other outlets (major newspapers, disinterested sources, etc.). It is also very important to train yourself to recognize logical fallacies and the like. Classes on critical thinking are pretty helpful.
It's more likely that people with mood disorders obsess over the internet, rather than the net itself making them depressed. Take IRC (not just aol chat rooms) for example: those who spend inordinate amounts of time chatting (idling/plotting world domination/etc) probably suffer from some kind of mental idiosyncracy (ie. depression). Instead of taking mental illness seriously (and doing something about it?) it's likely that many out there are looking to make excuses instead (and spend lots of cash on trying to prove silly things).