"a growing gap between the savers and the save-nots"

Johnston, D. C. (1999, March 21). A growing gap between the savers and the save-nots. The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2007, from http://www.nytimes.com

people worry more about having enough to retire in the five years before they stop working than after they quit.

''The financial press and the mutual fund industry are telling people that you need to save a lot, that you should be worried, and people work themselves into a state of anxiety,'' Professor Lowenstein said. ''But even though income drops after retirement and consumption drops even more, people find it is not nearly as bad as they expected. People adapt to adverse circumstances much faster than they expect.''

(Prof George Lowenstein)

in my words: the media tells soon-to-be retirees that they need to worry about the money the will--or won't--have after they quit. so then those 60-somethings get real worked up over whether they've saved enough for retirement or if they'll have to keep working until they die.

their sense of reality, however, has been distorted by the media. most people have, in fact, saved enough for retirement. they adjust to new situations in the lives and the money thing is less of an issue than they expected, despite what the media and other financial advisers told them.

in this case, the media made them worry unnecessarily, which caused them unhappiness. the media took something that was no big deal and, to make it newsworthy, made it seem as if it were a big tragedy. the media has this tendency of sensationalizing issues so that people will pay attention. this can cause viewers to see the world as a dramatic, sometimes awful place. this can cause distress and unhappiness. with the sensationalization of media, then, we can say that people have become unhappier.

infotainment! that's what that's called. mention that.