Indeed, linked to the 24-hour news cycle. Well, humans like to know urgent information fast, but being quick also reduces its accuracy and thought diversity, so it’s a clash between time and knowledge itself. In the end, it depends on the demand for rapid yet sometimes vague information in the first place, I would say. Personally, though, this is a bit linked to the recency bias, where new information is valued more than necessary.
Anxiety and senses of helplessness?
They can talk about recent trends, and the of missing out.
Though it's knowledge, it's mostly the recency . Most stuff in the news doesn't affect you. Rather, if news survives for long, you know it's important. But recency has very little to do with importance.