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I Hate the News (2006)

aaronsw.com

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Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#11

Post by lmm »

dryanau wrote: post #8

It's alright for one person to think this way, but if everyone did we'd be in a bit of trouble as a society. I think the reality is in the middle anyway, i.e. very few people are desperately gripped to each and every story, and if you think you're supposed to care about every story then you're missing the point of the news. Chances are enough people will care about each story to make it worthwhile running, even when…

Like the joke about airports, if you've never missed hearing about an important event then you're paying too much attention to news. There's a level that's worth following, but most people read far more news than is worthwhile.

Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#12

Post by xboxnolifes »

dryanau wrote: post #8

It's alright for one person to think this way, but if everyone did we'd be in a bit of trouble as a society. I think the reality is in the middle anyway, i.e. very few people are desperately gripped to each and every story, and if you think you're supposed to care about every story then you're missing the point of the news. Chances are enough people will care about each story to make it worthwhile running, even when…

Exactly. Nobody should be watching 24/7 news, but you also probably shouldn't be avoiding every news publication ever.

10 minutes a day skimming your news sources of choice for topics relevant to you combined with hearing things from your friends/family/coworkers goes a long way.

Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#14

Post by majkinetor »

rcarr wrote: post #7

> This seems to be true, but the curious thing is that I’m never involved. The government commits a crime, the New York Times prints it on the front page, the people on the cable chat shows foam at the mouth about it, the government apologizes and commits the crime more subtly. It’s a valuable system — I certainly support the government being more subtle about committing crimes (well, for the sake of argument, at lea…

The observation may not be relevant for extreme situations like those mentioned. However, even then, most people around you will know, so unless you live in a cave you will get the information on time.

Comparison with martial arts is inapropriate. Also, there are other things you could do to protect (and inform) yourself that do not demand payment with your most scarce resource.

Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#15

Post by EPWN3D »

> Most people’s major life changes don’t come from reading an article in the newspaper; they come from reading longer-form essays or thoughtful books, which are much more convincing and detailed.

Gonna need a source on this one, chief.

Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#16

Post by EA-3167 »

dryanau wrote: post #8

It's alright for one person to think this way, but if everyone did we'd be in a bit of trouble as a society. I think the reality is in the middle anyway, i.e. very few people are desperately gripped to each and every story, and if you think you're supposed to care about every story then you're missing the point of the news. Chances are enough people will care about each story to make it worthwhile running, even when…

Some people should definitely think that way though, specifically people prone to depression, suicide, and so on. If you're grappling with dark thoughts, the news is a pretty nasty hole to fall down. Aaron was sadly one of those people who probably was right that the news wasn't for him.

Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#17

Post by throw0101a »

If someone feels this way it may be worth getting a (paper) subscription to a weekly paper (assuming those still exist: The New Yorker?):

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weekly_newspaper

There's a lot of noise day-to-day, so some smoothing/averaging may be useful in reducing that. Perhaps monthly (e.g., The Atlantic) for longer-form articles on bigger topics as well.

Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#18

Post by SomeCallMeTim »

I do wonder whether encouraging people to exist entirely in their bubble is healthy.

I agree with the article to a point. I don't really have a "daily news ritual," though I tend to stumble across major stories.

But enough people being isolated from the news can result in an uninformed populace. People continuing to vote R or D simply out of habit.

I mean, I'm unlikely to vote anything but D for the foreseeable future. But if the R party self-destructs and an actual, viable, left-leaning party is created, I'd want to know that.

But that doesn't mean I need updates on every manufactured crisis daily, either.

Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#20

Post by redbell »

OP, if you hear me, please append the year (2006) at the end of the title. It’s not an obligation but it’s a good practice that the community already used to, other tags like [video] and [pdf] are popular too.
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