Tired of the news

Every year, the Reuters Institute at the University of Oxford surveys about 2,000 people in each of 48 countries or markets about their relationship with the news. Its Digital News Report 2026, published on June 16, confirms a strong trend: 42% of respondents say they sometimes or often avoid the news. When the Institute started measuring this phenomenon in 2017, the figure was 29%.

In Canada, the share reaches 45%. French speakers seem slightly less affected, at 38%, compared with 46% among English speakers. In the previous edition, the researchers noted that younger people more often say they feel powerless in the face of issues such as economic insecurity or climate change, and fear that the news will lead to toxic arguments.

The lead author of the 2026 report describes people expressing disillusionment and anxiety, pulled in every direction by everything competing for their attention on their phones.

Protecting yourself is not a flaw. But Ubuntu suggests another path: not carrying the weight of the world alone. A difficult news story, talked over with a neighbour or a colleague, becomes a shared reflection rather than a solitary anxiety.