‘Ayoko manood ng news. Sobrang nakaka-drain at depressing’

Filipinos are consuming less news overall amid a cycle of negative headlines.

Waking up and checking your phone often means being greeted by a stream of headlines about conflicts, controversies, and issues unfolding all at once.

For some Filipinos, staying informed has become emotionally exhausting. Instead of keeping up with the news, some are choosing to step back from it altogether.

One Threads user shared, “As much as possible, ayoko manood ng news. Sobrang nakaka-drain at depressing dito sa Pinas. Lahat na lang may issue—from politicians, environment, energy, transportation, [education], etc.” 

They added that beyond personal struggles they already face, the country’s ongoing issues only deepen their exhaustion: “This country is literally not good for our health in any aspect, [mentally], financially, or physically.”

Other users echoed the sentiment, saying the constant cycle of negative headlines has made them avoid news entirely.

This growing sense of exhaustion comes amid a decline in Filipinos’ overall news consumption. According to the Reuters Institute’s 2026 Digital News Report, weekly television news viewership in the Philippines fell from 66% in 2020 to 42% in 2026. Newspaper readership dropped from 22% to 10%, radio use declined from 25% to 14%, and news website consumption fell from 60% to 42%.

Social media was the only platform that saw growth, from 68% to 70%.

Alicor Panao, a political scientist at the University of the Philippines Diliman, told Inquirer that many Filipinos “are not switching platforms but consuming less news overall”—as the figures may suggest that audiences “are abandoning traditional media in favor of social media.”

Panao noted that while social media use increased, the two-percentage-point rise did not offset the decline seen across other news sources.

“People increasingly encounter news incidentally through digital platforms. Social media persists not because demand for news is increasing but simply because it is embedded in everyday online activity,” he is quoted as saying.

For some, avoiding the news has become a way to protect their mental well-being from feeling overwhelmed. Others, however, believe the emotional weight of staying informed comes from caring about the country’s future.

“The good thing we can infer from this is that we still care even if at times, it feels like a burden to carry all these feelings,” one user wrote. “From here, we can hopefully make changes with the upcoming [elections].”

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