Why We Should Watch Less News
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Why We Should Watch Less News
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Re: Why We Should Watch Less News
#2"...But the question we need to ask ourselves here is not whether such behaviors (or the cover-ups of such behaviors) are outrageous, but rather why we have become such insatiable consumers of these outrages? What does it cost us?..."
Exactly. There are four billion people on the planet. We are all connected instantaneously. If there isn't something happening every minute that's completely disgusting and outrageous, the species isn't diverse enough. The question is why we want it delivered into our day-to-day emotional lives -- and who is benefiting from having that kind of transfer happen.
No matter how bad something is, we can accept that it's bad, decide on measures to take (sometimes drastic measures) and continue on with our lives. Humans have lived their entire evolutionary existence like this. War over in Europe? Bombing of Pearl Harbor? I guess we may have to send millions off to war. A lot of people we know are going to die.
It's only when we get the direct, back-and-forth, highly-charged emotional interaction that we become more-and-more angry, make irrational choices. We try to up one another with displays of our outrage and pain. Become unhappy and emotionally unstable. Then, guess what? We can share that emotional state with millions of others through the net!
My advice to people who are beginning to wake up to this, but still want to know what the current political discussions are? Read well-constructed opinion columns. Good ones are required to have thesis and supporting arguments. So you get bias, facts, and a look at somebody's reasoning. I scan opinion columns from all sides of the political debates. I find I lose about 24 hours on learning what current events are. And I'm okay with that trade-off. A serial killer 1500 miles away doesn't require me to gear up and go out with a SWAT team. It can wait. 99% of this can wait.
Re: Why We Should Watch Less News
#3"...But the question we need to ask ourselves here is not whether such behaviors (or the cover-ups of such behaviors) are outrageous, but rather why we have become such insatiable consumers of these outrages? What does it cost us?..." Exactly. There are four billion people on the planet. We are all connected instantaneously. If there isn't something happening every minute that's completely disgusting and outrageous,…
> There are four billion people on the planet.
There is actually almost 8 billion, now.
Re: Why We Should Watch Less News
#4>"While research has shown that visually shocking and upsetting news can contribute to anxiety, sleeping trouble, raise cortisol levels and even trigger PTSD symptoms, a University of Sussex study found that just six minutes reading a book can reduce stress levels up to 68%."
Would the results be different if the same news was delivered in text form as opposed to visual?
In light of all the problems, why do we compel ourselves to continue watching more?
Re: Why We Should Watch Less News
#5OMG THIS.
I recently deleted social media apps from my phone, and replaced most of my social media diet with reading books again, like I did in the good olde days before the internet.
I feel... healthier. Smarter, for sure. After reading a ton of philosophy and history recently, the day-to-day political debate on the internet looks like nonsense most of the time now. And when I see someone is wrong on the internet, I can just let them be wrong on the internet. Because it doesn't matter, it won't last.
Reading the classics, books of deep thought and proven quality, is wonderful.
Re: Why We Should Watch Less News
#6Recommended reading list thread!
What have you read this year that you think others should read as well? Here's a few of mine that really stand out.
Factfulness, by Hans Rosling
The Ethics of Ambiguity, by Simone de Beauvoir
Designing Delivery, by Jeff Sussna (re-read)
The Cooking Gene, by Michael Twitty
Binti, by Nnedi Okorafor
The Philosophy of Spinoza
The Silk Roads, by Peter Frankopan
Re: Why We Should Watch Less News
#7If you where to move your news reading to once weekly, what news sources would you use to catch up on anything useful you might have missed in that time? traditional online news outlets are too fast paced for this purpose I think, very high signal to noise.
Re: Why We Should Watch Less News
#8> "While research has shown that visually shocking and upsetting news can contribute to anxiety, sleeping trouble, raise cortisol levels and even trigger PTSD symptoms, a University of Sussex study found that just six minutes reading a book can reduce stress levels up to 68%." Would the results be different if the same news was delivered in text form as opposed to visual? In light of all the problems, why do we compe…
The same reason we eat junk food, knowing all that refined sugar and salt and fat are bad for us. The media is tuned to our instincts, not to our conscious minds.
Re: Why We Should Watch Less News
#9If you where to move your news reading to once weekly, what news sources would you use to catch up on anything useful you might have missed in that time? traditional online news outlets are too fast paced for this purpose I think, very high signal to noise.
I decided a while back to shift my "news" consumption to reading print journals -- I have 2 or 3 quarterlies that I go pick up at Barnes and Noble. It keeps me up to date on current affairs, but provides well thought out commentary that "up to the minute" journalism lacks. At least well thought out enough to merit putting on real paper.
Re: Why We Should Watch Less News
#10If you where to move your news reading to once weekly, what news sources would you use to catch up on anything useful you might have missed in that time? traditional online news outlets are too fast paced for this purpose I think, very high signal to noise.
New York Times Sunday edition? The paper version is $5/week delivered.
Or NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday: https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-sunday/ Available in most radio markets or online.