I enjoy reading the news and then discussing it with friends that are also news readers. That's the hobby aspect for me (and aforementioned friends). Together we try to predict what will happen in the world (wars, inflation, energy transition, stock market, ...) and quite often at least one of us is completely right or spectacularly wrong, which makes it fun for us.
I know it's not very useful but I enjoy it and it doesn't make me depressed or angry. Just let me have my fun.
It depends in my experience on what "news" we're talking about and the depth of the information. Almost all I'm seeing online is made to engage and engage people, some more and some less, and that definitely matches what parent is describing. Maybe you're talking about different kinds of content.
I stopped consuming "news" i.e. CBC, CNN, Guardian, and the likes two months ago and I feel objectively happier and spend less time endlessly refreshing the page. I read the occasional in depth article because I feel like it doesn't have quite the same effect.