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SoylentNews is people

posted by on Tuesday December 13 2016, @05:11PM   Printer-friendly
from the putting-ourselves-out-of-business dept.

This story might be helpful to those tearing their hair out about the news lately:

I grew up believing that following the news makes you a better citizen. Eight years after having quit, that idea now seems ridiculous—that consuming a particularly unimaginative information product on a daily basis somehow makes you thoughtful and informed in a way that benefits society.

But I still encounter people who balk at the possibility of a smart, engaged adult quitting the daily news.
...
A few things you might notice, if you take a break:

1) You feel better

A common symptom of quitting the news is an improvement in mood. News junkies will say it's because you've stuck your head in the sand.

But that assumes the news is the equivalent of having your head out in the fresh, clear air. They don't realize that what you can glean about the world from the news isn't even close to a representative sample of what is happening in the world.
...
2) You were never actually accomplishing anything by watching the news

If you ask someone what they accomplish by watching the news, you'll hear vague notions like, "It's our civic duty to stay informed!" or "I need to know what's going on in the world," or "We can't just ignore these issues," none of which answer the question.
...
A month after you've quit the news, it's hard to name anything useful that's been lost. It becomes clear that those years of news-watching amounted to virtually nothing in terms of improvement to your quality of life, lasting knowledge, or your ability to help others. And that's to say nothing of the opportunity cost. Imagine if you spent that time learning a language, or reading books and essays about some of the issues they mention on the news.

Read on for the rest of the list.


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 13 2016, @10:36PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 13 2016, @10:36PM (#441045)

    Come on now, this whole "safe space" thing is stupid and it needs to go away. The idea of civil discourse is not a new one, and people asking for a civil discussion shouldn't be mixed up with people who want "safe spaces" where people aren't allowed to disturb whatever bubble they've created.

    I'm very tired of telling people to stop being assholes and having them come back with "oh sorry didn't mean to trigger you in your safe space". The irony is that the assholes are the ones who want safe spaces, they get SO bent out of shape when you challenge their worldview. This isn't a partisan problem either....

    So again, civil discourse != safe space. Its called being a decent human. If you have to resort to name calling then the civil part is over and we're on to emotional rantings for the entertainment of others. The best thing that can happen at that point is some random people are swayed by one side or the other.

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