Feeling Depressed? Here’s The Top 5 Good News Websites

Sara Morgan — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:01:24 +0000

If you are like me, then you are sick and tired of all the negative news being thrown at you by the mainstream media outlets. Pick any major online news outlet and you will find the majority of items are about the ever sinking economy, Iraq or someone’s unfortunate death.

Some might argue that reading about people who have it worse can make you feel better about yourself, but I really do not think that is true.

I recently spent one work week (5 days) forcing myself to only get my news from positive news network sites. Believe it or not, there are lots of them out there. Instead of performing my morning work ritual of “catching up” with the world by looking at the big media news outlets, each day I would challenge myself to find a positive news website that “inspired me”.

By the end of the week, I was noticeably brighter and more optimistic. My family and a few friends remarked on it. They were curious to know what I might be taking.

I would like to share with you the top 5 websites that I found that week. Check them out and if you feel particularly inspired, try swapping one out with your usual online new source.

HappyNews

Started in 2005 by a man from Texas, this website tries to balance out the “disproportionate amount of negative news” from traditional media sites. The stories they feature are real and they often come from mainstream news sources, such as The Associated Press, it is just that they are only positive stories.

SouthAfrica – The Good News

Talk about a place that needs to focus on good news. These days, South Africa is inundated with violence and turmoil. If any place needs to focus on the positive, they do. And they are. This inspirational web site offers legitimate positive news stories that focus on the good stuff coming out of South Africa.

OptimistWorld

This website is run by a group of optimists from the United Kingdom. In addition to the daily news feed, they offer a version of the web site in Italian and Spanish (with German and French to come later).

GoodNewsNetwork

This outstanding website features legitimate news stories from around the world. I really like their free weekly newsletter which gives you the top 10 good news items for the week. At the very least, you should sign up for this.

Gimundo

I saved the best for last. In addition to the daily good news and positive stories, they have some great videos. Be sure to check out the “Babies Eating Lemons” one. There is no way you could watch that and not smile.

Like the idea of positive news sites? Know of any others that are inspiring to you? Let us know about them.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

Related posts

Express your Gratitude With Thanks-O-Meter

Tina — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:01:26 +0000

How much good news is there on the news these days?

Few. Bad news clearly receives a lot more attention than the good stuff. But good things do happen all the time and they must be encouraged.

So when something positive has happened to you, when someone has been exceptionally helpful or when something has changed your life positively, why not say Thank You!

Thanks-O-Meter is a site that collects all the nice things people do and experience. The site is public access and no membership is required to express your own gratitude. Stories can be searched for by keywords.

It’s a great way to remind you of how good life can be and that it’s the small things that make us happy – breathing, smiles, good words and gestures. People do nice things everyday and on Thanks-O-Meter you can read about it or share your own story.

When you decide to submit a Thank You, sharing your story is optional. You can simply select your Thank You category or add a custom one, and express how the event made you feel. It only takes a few seconds and adds a positive voice to the statistics.

Below is a chart to demonstrate the statistics of the site. There you can also see which Thank You categories you can choose from.

Organizations can sign up for paid, customized accounts. Schools, churches, charities and sports leagues however can request free accounts.

Has the site inspired you to do a good deed, to buy flowers for someone or simply write a Thank You eMail? Please share!

Picture credits: lusi