It’s an accepted, albeit depressing, truth of the news business: people like bad news. Everyone says they don’t, but in today’s digital culture it’s pretty easy to see. Post a happy story and a tragic or infuriating story at the same time online and track which one gets the most views, the most comments, is shared the most times.

But our digital culture and 24/7 news cycle also means there’s no break from it. Last week, I spoke with a man who is concerned about what that’s doing to us.

“It’s been my observation that people have a tendency to become what they see,” John Shimer said. “This can affect a whole culture, even in a society as large as ours.”