81–90 of 203 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
One of the reasons I haven't blocked hackernews with /etc/hosts is because of it's noprocrast feature. Most of these sites know they're potentially harmful, the better ones acknowledge it and help their readers avoid the harm.
I think op meant The Guardian being a news site.
Kind of strange, reading that on a news site, pretty much telling you to stop using their site.
It's not just news. I cut out mainstream media several years ago, and noted a definite improvement in my psychological well-being. As of the end of last year, I stopped engaging in mainstream social media. So much better. I still keep a Facebook account for Messenger and Events, but don't post, read timelines, or participate. Not only do I have more time to read books and learn new things -- made pita bread from scra…
I've got rid of all my social media other than twitter and linkedin which I use for work. Facebook I only use for messenger. I check reddit once or twice a day but rarely do I scroll past the first page. My overall mental health is much better. I feel a little bit of sadness when I see friends who HAVE to check their phones (social media) after being without it for a hour. It's great in moderation but I think most people get too sucked in.
Right and when the secret police come to your door you will be surprised. Wait, you say, when did we get taken over by a dictator? What happened to our democracy? Why is my internet suddenly riddled with NO everywhere? How come my job vanished? Why are my children suddenly forced to eat dirt? Why do I live in a crime infested neighborhood that used to be safe? Why did evil people destroy my environment? Oh yeah, I di…
For me this meant disabling my Google Now feed, turning off NYTimes notifications, unfollowing all non-human accounts on Facebook, and unsubscribing from some email digests. Oh and check out the 'noprocrast' settings on Hacker News.
Now I read the news exactly when I want to and from sources I enjoy. I still probably know more than I'd like to about the whims of the president, but I notice that I'm probably 20% happier and 5% less informed than when I started. A good trade.
"Most news consumers – even if they used to be avid book readers – have lost the ability to absorb lengthy articles or books. After four, five pages they get tired, their concentration vanishes, they become restless. It's not because they got older or their schedules became more onerous. It's because the physical structure of their brains has changed."
This claim stops just short of saying watching the news causes ADHD, from a self-styled "self-help guru" with no expertise in neurology or psychology, without any sort of citation.
There's also specious logic like this:
"I don't know a single truly creative mind who is a news junkie – not a writer, not a composer, mathematician, physician, scientist, musician, designer, architect or painter"
I also find the question "Out of the 10,000 news stories you may have read in the last 12 months, did even one allow you to make a better decision about a serious matter in your life" to be poorly founded. Knowledge is a good unto itself, and simply raising awareness of issues can lead to action, even if the majority do nothing concrete to help. Simply seeing the change in polling data can cause politicians to enact legislation (though, obviously, donating to a lobbying group or contacting your representative are more effective).
Moreover, I think the fundamental idea asserted here is dangerous. Limiting your news intake is one thing, but forgoing it entirely?. The cornerstone of democracy is an informed public. Keeping people aware of the actions being taken at and highest and lowest levels of government is the only way to keep it accountable. And on a personal note I think it is immoral for people who are relatively well off to ignore the problems plaguing others.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
And in English: http://www.dobelli.com/en/essays/news-diet/ I read this years ago and stopped reading and watching news. Never missed a thing. Important things you will hear one way or another and the rest is just noise. Loud distracting noise.
Did you notice the evil word in the URL of this website before you posted your comment?
But what I like about HN is that the comment section is full of insight about the subject sometimes even debunking the article that was posted.
So yes.
Giving up political news didn't make me happier, but it certainly reduced that niggling feeling that everything is headed towards doom. It's said that "an informed citizenry is the bulwark of democracy", and that's probably why many of us consume so much political news. However, I feel seeing the news and expressing outrage privately or on social media have become low-effort excuses for not doing things that can actu…
The average citizen (not organizing protests and keeping away from fruitless online outrage) can probably catch up with all relevant political news in 1-2 hours/month of concentrated effort. I've started doing just that and it has had great impact on my mental health. I don't feel any less prepared to make an impact when the time comes (elections, sporadic talks with friends and family). Should I be more engaged? Sur…
I have noticed this too when coming back from a month long trip. Usually nothing important has changed. I would argue that by checking once a month you get a better idea of the big picture because you deal less with the noise. At my company they have CNN playing at lunch time and during that hour almost nothing important gets transmitted. It's just endless discussion about the same topics.
Haven't watched the news in at least 5 years. Actually I haven't watched TV in the last 5 years even. So I don't have ads bombarding me, or fear and propaganda coming in every day. Highly recommended. You have one life. Make sure it counts as a happy one.
How do you stay up to day? Ideally Id like a weekly review or something where I can spend 30min. I recongnise it would be beneficial to give up news, but I need to know a bit about whats going on to be social.
Granted I could have marketed it better but there was very little interest.