News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier • Hacker News Board

Re: News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier

#201

Post by bluedino » Mon, Apr 15, 2013, 3:05 PM UTC

edw519 wrote: post #187

With 7 billion people in the world, it's very likely that these things will happen today: - someone will get killed in a horrible car accident - a child will be killed in a freak accident - someone will die from cancer, leaving much grieving behind - someone will molest a child - someone will lose all their money in a scam - someone will get raped - someone will be killed by a never-to-be-found hit-and-run drunk driv…

Think about it this way - what if someone is being raped every day in the parking ramp at your office, or murdered on the street you ride your bike to work each morning? If you heard about it on the news, you could change your route to work or ride with a buddy to increase your safety.

Re: News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier

#202

Post by bjoe_lewis » Mon, Apr 15, 2013, 3:10 PM UTC

yes. but wait, I developed an [android application](https://github.com/joelewis/emotionreader/bin/emotionBBC.apk) that categorizes news by emotions, so why not just try to ignore the anger, sadness and fear sections of the app and read the rest?

Re: News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier

#203

Post by bridanp » Mon, Apr 15, 2013, 3:17 PM UTC

bluedino wrote: post #201

edw519 wrote: post #187

With 7 billion people in the world, it's very likely that these things will happen today: - someone will get killed in a horrible car accident - a child will be killed in a freak accident - someone will die from cancer, leaving much grieving behind - someone will molest a child - someone will lose all their money in a scam - someone will get raped - someone will be killed by a never-to-be-found hit-and-run drunk driv…

Think about it this way - what if someone is being raped every day in the parking ramp at your office, or murdered on the street you ride your bike to work each morning? If you heard about it on the news, you could change your route to work or ride with a buddy to increase your safety.

That sounds right. So if I hear about these type things on the news daily, then I "change my route" and don't watch it nor read about it.

Re: News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier

#204

Post by dstorrs » Mon, Apr 15, 2013, 3:25 PM UTC

I gave up on reading newspapers and watching TV news over a decade ago and I can't point to a single way that it's ever harmed me. My basic theory is as follows:

- I miss out on the fearmongering

- I save a tremendous amount of time

- If anything important IS happening, everyone will be talking about it, so I'll hear about it

- Even if I do miss hearing about an important issue, what does it matter? What can I actually do to prevent e.g. the fiscal cliff, or the failure of Lehman Brothers, or etc?

- When it comes time to vote, I talk with my friends who actually care about news / politics and, if use their information (plus a bit of research if needed) to decide my vote

- I read Hacker news or other sites like it because the news that geeks want to know about is far more likely to be interesting / relevant.

Aside from some occasional mild embarrassment when someone asks me an opinion on something I'm not aware of -- which can usually be deflected simply by saying something innocuous and then turning the conversation back to them -- this has worked excellently for me.

Re: News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier

#205

Post by dmoo » Mon, Apr 15, 2013, 3:26 PM UTC

edw519 wrote: post #187

With 7 billion people in the world, it's very likely that these things will happen today: - someone will get killed in a horrible car accident - a child will be killed in a freak accident - someone will die from cancer, leaving much grieving behind - someone will molest a child - someone will lose all their money in a scam - someone will get raped - someone will be killed by a never-to-be-found hit-and-run drunk driv…

I live in Ireland so while we have all of the above we also have a whole heap of 'economy' bad news. In fact this story has been running for about 5 years now. I don't listen to the news during the morning commute anymore as it kind sets you up in a bad mood for the day. I listen on the way home when I'm in a good mood because I'm going to see the kids etc so I still know what happened, but i'm not being dragged down by it.

Re: News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier

#206

Post by neltnerb » Mon, Apr 15, 2013, 3:26 PM UTC

gizzlon wrote: post #143

neltnerb wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I looked into this and experimented with it a while back. My conclusion was that: a. If something is actually important to me, I will find out about it whether I read the news or not. b. Keeping in mind (a), any news that I don't hear about through other channels is not urgent. c. A quick "news" piece will have almost no depth or context that could actually give the story relevance. And will very often just be outrig…

How do you test a) ? How do you know what you don't know? :) It seems like you're saying that something is not important if you do not find out about it..

Certainly a risk; in my personal case I read news magazines to see what I missed with the assumption that anything important would eventually be covered there. There were a variety of things that I was glad to be hearing about, but which I don't think hearing about sooner would have made me more informed.

I could be wrong, certainly I missed Paris Hilton's sex tape entirely.

But more seriously, there are very specific topics which I will miss by not watching the news if I have no other source of information -- particularly political action items and dangerous weather on the horizon. But both of those topics I am certain to hear about on facebook. Might vary by friend circle though, I have friends who work at NOAA as well as obama's campaign.

Re: News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier

#207

Post by Karunamon » Mon, Apr 15, 2013, 3:33 PM UTC

dublinben wrote: post #111

webwielder wrote: post #7

See also "I Hate the News" by Aaron Swartz http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/hatethenews

I think the book "It's not news, it's FARK" is the best thing that Drew Curtis has ever done. http://www.fark.com/2007/book/

Which is ironic, seeing as how his own website is now guilty of many different things he rails on the mainstream media establishment for in that book. Off the top of my head, unlabeled advertising masquerading as news, equal time for nutjobs, headlines that contradict articles...

Kind of sad, really. It ruins a good analysis with the stench of hyprocrisy.

Re: News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier

#208

Post by mosselman » Mon, Apr 15, 2013, 3:35 PM UTC

astrodust wrote: post #200

edw519 wrote: post #187

With 7 billion people in the world, it's very likely that these things will happen today: - someone will get killed in a horrible car accident - a child will be killed in a freak accident - someone will die from cancer, leaving much grieving behind - someone will molest a child - someone will lose all their money in a scam - someone will get raped - someone will be killed by a never-to-be-found hit-and-run drunk driv…

What's the list for Hacker News?

  - Someone will think of some shitty startup that has no added value to anyone.
  - Someone will claim that technology xyz is the perfect solution to all of the web's problems
  - Someone will give some wise ass advise stated in the form of 10 things I ... from ...
  - Someone will discuss why he would or would not work at some big company.
  - Someone will pretend to care about some minority, meanwhile insulting them and everybody else.

Re: News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier

#209

Post by verygoodyear » Mon, Apr 15, 2013, 3:36 PM UTC

brador wrote: post #192

verygoodyear wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like this, great on my iPad. Any plans for a mobile version? Also, what do you the stars signify? And I think Lifehacker is showing double links.

Thanks! Still working the kinks out of the design before building out a mobile version. Soon. Stars mean it's new (last x hours, x is adaptive). Checked and yes lifehacker is showing double links...should fix itself...no idea why... :) Drop some feedback in the box under the title if you want anything added/removed/changed.

Ahhhh, I get ya. Makes sense.

I think the design is why it works. Nice and simple - a lot of this stuff is over designed I find.

Will get using it and provide feedback if I have it!

Re: News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier

#210

Post by Karunamon » Mon, Apr 15, 2013, 3:41 PM UTC

sageikosa wrote: post #156

oinksoft wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your argument rests on the flawed premise that the reader is a passive fool waiting to be spoon-fed their morning panic ration. An article may be the top story of the day, but that doesn't mean it is important or relevant to me. Clearly there is a "news cycle" and every day there must be some top story. The reader is not compelled to pay heed. The discriminating reader does not perceive a newspaper to be some distill…

Citizens surrender their control of information flow when they accept mandatory public education and learn to accept a regimented doses of "knowledge" by schedule. The alternatives are to become "knowledge" rebels, which often means not just bucking the establishment, but one's peer groups as well, whom you can't escape in mandatory educational institutions. Real education begins when mandatory learning ends.

>Citizens surrender their control of information flow when they accept mandatory public education and learn to accept a regimented doses of "knowledge" by schedule.

WTF? Did I step into an Alex Jones site by mistake here?

checks URL

Guess not.

Here's the thing.. mandatory public education, for its flaws, is still better than the alternative. Some minimum level of knowledge and socialization is all but required in order for a child to grow into a productive member of society (and I'd almost argue that the socialization is somewhat more important than the knowledge), especially when you're dealing with STEM topics that directly relate to and impact our economic and infrastructure backbone.

Complaints that education is either stunting the growth of our children or training them to become consumers or indoctrinating them or whatever are the marks of someone who should not be taken seriously.