I stopped following the news • Hacker News Board

Re: I stopped following the news

#201

Post by g-b-r » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 4:40 AM UTC

Sammi wrote: post #178

mcdeltat wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On one hand I can see where you can draw this argument from. But on the other hand I don't think daily consumption of the huge quantity of news that exists is necessary for having a decent political opinion, especially given that most news is inflammatory junk (at least in my country). I just don't need a 5 page breakdown of every single event that some corpo decided to shove down our throats. Also - and maybe I'm na…

Yes. "The news" isn't information. It's just junk food for the mind. There's nothing in the daily news cycle that is helpful for you, whilst there's lots that is bad for you. There are other better ways to stay informed than to follow "the news".

I hope you don't mean social networks

Re: I stopped following the news

#202

Post by p0w3n3d » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 8:47 AM UTC

I have ups and downs, and the downs happen coincidentally when I read more news. It is quite clear to me that my bad days are correlated with the amount of manipulation that comes from the media. However, when being clean for long, I wonder how could I go voting, not understanding what happens in my country. Also not being interested in politics doesn't make me excluded from the laws that are being created, which affect me more and more.

Re: I stopped following the news

#203

Post by ben_w » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 12:27 PM UTC

matthewdgreen wrote: post #196

ben_w wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Excerpt from link: For the rest of the news, I am considering subscribing to a magazine that covers important events in Germany, the EU, or the world every few months. This kind of format filters out short-term noise and fear-driven stories. Elections happen even less frequently than this. If your democracy disintegrates with less than a few months of warning, you were probably invaded and noticed even without the ne…

In October 2024 I would not have guessed that we'd ever see masked agents killing people on the streets of major US cities, or the US administration immediately accusing the victims of being armed terrorists. Things can change rapidly . By allowing things to get this bad, we have unfortunately forfeited our right to pretend things can't change rapidly. Let's plug in; fix this situation; and then folks can go back to…

"Every few months" would make the important question for that ~ October 2025, not 2024.

The available news in October 2025 said "this is a question of when, not if".

Re: I stopped following the news

#204

Post by 72deluxe » Tue, Feb 03, 2026, 9:22 AM UTC

popalchemist wrote: post #192

72deluxe wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you also believe you should discuss every other topic under the sun in the belief that not discussing it is "ceding ground" to a viewpoint or action of others? It would seem that in your view, we should be discussing all things at all times due to this "oppressor" mindset. This simply cannot be true.

You're clearly being facetious. I will simply say that the rise of Naziism/Authoritarianism in the west is a preeminent threat to all human beings on the planet, especially when the king of all nazis has access to the nuclear missiles. It obviously demands a sense of urgency that other topics don't. If you disagree with that, be explicit about exactly what part.

There are lots of threats to all human beings on the planet. You are simply taking the view that the thing you personally see as the biggest threat is therefore the thing that everyone else should see as the biggest threat (they won't) and agree with your view (they will not), casting your view of the world as the single truth (it isn't), then further presenting it in a ultimatum-based combative manner, asserting that other people take action based on your narrow definition (they won't).

This prevents any reasonable discourse so is unlikely to be successful, no matter how dogmatically or assertively you present your case. Others will simply perceive it as unreasonable, I suspect.

This doesn't mean that you can't still believe it to be true - it just means that others will not engage with the points you mention, and you'll then end up being more isolated and frustrated.

Re: I stopped following the news

#205

Post by masterlee_fn » Sat, Feb 14, 2026, 10:57 AM UTC

ben_w wrote: post #203

matthewdgreen wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In October 2024 I would not have guessed that we'd ever see masked agents killing people on the streets of major US cities, or the US administration immediately accusing the victims of being armed terrorists. Things can change rapidly . By allowing things to get this bad, we have unfortunately forfeited our right to pretend things can't change rapidly. Let's plug in; fix this situation; and then folks can go back to…

"Every few months" would make the important question for that ~ October 2025, not 2024. The available news in October 2025 said "this is a question of when, not if".

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