The daily antidote to the merchants of bad

Music is a simple way to feel better when times seem terrible.

There are plenty of reasons to fret about the world right now, and social media is handing the “merchants of bad” an all access pass to our emotions. If we want a better future, we need to diversify what we’re feeding our brain.

The merchants, as social psychologist Roy Baumeister and science writer

John Tierney

call them, are people in media, politics and advertising who use scare tactics to influence our behavior. We used to be able to tune them out, but now, fear of political violence, fascism, ADHD and incontinence follow us to the bathroom or bed on our phones.

Human brains respond more intensely to negative stimuli than to neutral or positive information and events. This negativity bias can be useful. Scanning for threats has kept our species alive (and in conflict) for hundreds of thousands of years. But technology is warping this instinct, introducing peril that isn’t an immediate danger.

Scientists have found that fixating on the bad without also focusing on some good can distort how people see themselves, the world and the future. If we’re all doomed, what’s the point of fighting climate change or injustice? On the other hand, nurturing joy can expand people’s view of what’s possible — healing and liberation.

An easy, powerful way to do this is through song.