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I Hate the News (2006)

aaronsw.com

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Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#41

Post by chongli »

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…

There’s a lot in the news that’s breaking one day and gone the next. I think people in general consume too much news, rather than too little.

We might be better off getting news out of our lives and just having some kind of alert system for events that are relevant to our lives.

Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#42

Post by rqtwteye »

SomeCallMeTim wrote: post #18

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 futur…

You probably can read the news once per month and be well informed.

Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#43

Post by NovaDudely »

lmm wrote: post #11
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.

There is the nightly news broadcast, it goes for 1 hour - so 1/16th of your waking life. Maybe about 10-15% of that hour is anything of actual interest/importance.

Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#44

Post by strken »

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…

I'm not sure this is true. Social networks, as in the underlying human phenomenon of communicating with other people, do a phenomenal job of spreading information.

Consider personally important news: some combination of ground-shaking global events, plus stories specific to one's interests, plus some local news. We hear about these things anyway! I heard about the war in Ukraine from friends and acquaintances before seeing it in a newspaper, with less waffling and including links to more in-depth analysis. I hear about human interest stories that actually interest me, weird bits of software/archeology/gaming/ecology/literature/sports/local stuff, instead of random articles about any old thing. I'm more up to date on local gossip than the actual media sometimes, since people who are unwilling to answer a reporter's questions are happy to just have a chat. The most serious news eventually ends up on HN in one form or another, which is at least an industry-specific link aggregator with less whiplash.

Probably there's news I need to know, and weekly might be an okay compromise, but even monthly or quarterly news would be supplemented by people telling me things.

Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#45

Post by NovaDudely »

SV_BubbleTime wrote: post #40
thenerdhead wrote: post #32

I also hate the news (and advertisements). The news will never teach you how to think. It will tell you what to think. I love books though. Books don't tell lies to you because you have to think for yourself.

> Books don't tell lies to you That is entirely inaccurate though. There are a LOT of books designed for a goal.

If anything all books are merely published bias. No issue reading them but don't take books as gospel. They are just as fallible as every other medium.

Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#48

Post by phforms »

The post is from 2006. I wonder how he would have written it differently or not at all during the pandemic or if he was a refugee, for example. Of course, these are extreme cases, but they demonstrate that you have to be in a special position to be able to perceive the news as a “waste of time”.

I also have the habit of avoiding most news, but I believe it did not serve me well, since I have been ignorant about many current issues and often feel ashamed when I don’t know things that are very relevant to the lifes of people around me that I may talk to. Especially when there was a recent disaster or political event that made a huge impact and I just missed it and thereby fail to sympathize with someone who is directly affected by it.

But I also see how reading the news can really drag me down and feed into my depression, so a healthy balance always worked best for me, like catching up once or twice a week. I have yet to find a good aggregate source of quality, independent news though.

Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#49

Post by dang »

Related:

I Hate the News (2006) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16684881 - March 2018 (61 comments)

I Hate the News (2006) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224858 - March 2015 (187 comments)

I Hate the News (2006) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5812409 - June 2013 (1 comment)

I hate the news - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5051902 - Jan 2013 (74 comments)

Re: I Hate the News (2006)

#50

Post by Danjoe4 »

jmcgough wrote: post #27

As a queer person watching a slew of recent anti-LGBT laws pass, I wish I could have the luxury of just ignoring the news and not caring. Aaron was 20 when he wrote this and it shows.

I'm not aware of any recent laws that restrict the rights of LGBT individuals, could you please name them?
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