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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.
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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.
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2) You were never actually accomplishing anything by watching the newsIf 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.
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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.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 13 2016, @06:41PM
The same things apply to here (especially noticing most people talk out of their asses).
It's true. Event watching a youtube vid about how to sharpen your chainsaw chain is more productive. Even if you don't own a chainsaw.
A while back I quit watching tv because after "EVENT", I noticed the coverage of the thing didn't match the experience on the ground at all. And it was completely surreal, having this talking head telling me about this thing that didn't match the thing at all.
And this went on for MONTHS, with newscasters dissecting the thing from every angle, "experts" called in to give legitimacy to the whole charade, and everyone talking seemingly just to have something to say.
What's worse is the broadcast reality started infiltrating meatspace. I was at the capitol for some official function, and commented that the response seemed completely disconnected from what was really happening. People were purposing the most asinine things, and yet no one seemed prepared to confront the incredulity of it all. "People are uneasy and want some reassurances" I was told. This would all blow over eventually and a sense of normalcy would return.
The official report came much later, but by then the damage had been done. So many agendas were laid bare by the report, but somehow that never made the news. And even today, i still get references to the broadcast reality, but never the reality as I understood it.
I get the same sense here time to time, with talking points being repeated, counter-talking points offered, and very little said overall.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 13 2016, @09:55PM
Its the best tactic, human beings only have so much time and attention to give. Suck up a portion of it dealing with inane bullshit and you derail a cohesive result.