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It doesn't need to take much time. If it keeps you awake at night, then you must have had a very posh life where you made no mistakes. Make a family, and they will keep you up at night instead!
1- Get your news from as many sources as possible and from different countries.
2- Go from extreme left, to extreme right to have an idea about each source
3- Form your own opinion. Do not consume news only, but try to take a step back and think about the whole thing.
4- If you did 3 very well, you will see some dynamics and behind the scene influence from different people/ideologies..etc. I'm not talking about conspiracy theories or negative influence (which does exist). I'm talking about the line that each news source follows to get you the news.
5- If you did 4 very well, you understand the news and you are no longer required to follow them every day.
PS: you will find yourself drawn to specific sources because they match your beliefs. That's ok too, just be open about other sources as well.
If you want less of a time investment, my picks would be npr.org and/or Axios. They're more concise and linear. I'd also add in a local source, preferable a public one (I read Gothamist).
A lot of people do a daily podcast news digest like The Daily from NYT or The World by PRX. They're very good but I never go into them, I prefer to read. Occasionally I listen to long-form stuff on podcast (love On The Media).
Never watch TV news anymore. Occasionally look at a specific story on YouTube.
News is largely inconsequential moment-by-moment gossip, or unnecessary follow-up to stuff you've already heard about. You feel informed but not in any way that improves your life or your role in society.
I'll hear about the important things without seeking them out.
I was thinking of doing a quick 10 minute YouTube video of me reading the news from different sources and commenting on them. One Twitch streamer has a lot of viewers with his political news streams, so I think that could work. After all many do the same and have huge ass businesses and many viewers/readers doing that.
But I can't deal with the bullshit on a daily basis. I hate it when I read obvious bullshit but they try to label it as the truth.
Edit: and HN as a meta news source
Absolutely not, it’s dangerous to my mental health in a way few other things are. People will call me selfish for not being engaged, but the cost of engagement is too high for me. If I hear news it’s a five minute hourly update on Radio 1. Tech news is another beast, I quite enjoy things like HN.
You are selfish. Democracies can't function if citizens act like ostriches with their heads in the sand. Do you vote? I sure hope not.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You are selfish. Democracies can't function if citizens act like ostriches with their heads in the sand. Do you vote? I sure hope not.
Selfish? Maybe, but my mental health matters far more to me. I’m not looking for approval or saying what I do is right, I am merely answering the question.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Selfish? Maybe, but my mental health matters far more to me. I’m not looking for approval or saying what I do is right, I am merely answering the question.
Again I would ask that you consider yourself uninformed and abstain from voting if you don't have the mental fortitude to follow the goings on of Planet Earth.
I only vote municipal, those elections actually have a real impact on my life and I have firsthand knowledge of the issues and the people.
Aaron Swartz says you shouldn't: http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/hatethenews
If you're a politically inclined person you'll want to know what your government is doing so that, for example, you can organise against it when what it is doing is terrible. You will also likely want to know about changes to laws, new government programmes, technological advances, books, essays, art, etc. etc. etc.