A study published last week analyzed 6 months of letters to the editor of local newspapers, including the News Sentinel and the Metro Pulse. The researchers found that 7 out of 10 readers were more depressed after reading the letters than before. The other three readers never made it past the second letter. Three of the remaining seven went straight to the nearest bar to find where the first three went. Of the readers, 9 out of 10 found any letters with a positive spin to be superficial and annoying rather than uplifting. The study showed that most letters to the editor are carping, complaining, or moaning about current events, or about previous letters to the editor. The study can be found on the researchers’ website, which we cannot find.
