Giving up reading news will make us happier • Hacker News Board

Re: Giving up reading news will make us happier

#41

Post by gtirloni » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 12:35 PM UTC

lovelearning wrote: post #36

Giving up political news didn't make me happier, but it certainly reduced that niggling feeling that everything is headed towards doom. It's said that "an informed citizenry is the bulwark of democracy", and that's probably why many of us consume so much political news. However, I feel seeing the news and expressing outrage privately or on social media have become low-effort excuses for not doing things that can actu…

The average citizen (not organizing protests and keeping away from fruitless online outrage) can probably catch up with all relevant political news in 1-2 hours/month of concentrated effort.

I've started doing just that and it has had great impact on my mental health. I don't feel any less prepared to make an impact when the time comes (elections, sporadic talks with friends and family).

Should I be more engaged? Surely. But I just look at all of it and think it's a necessary evil and I'm happy other people feel more inclined to participate heavily. I just don't have the mental skills to keep up and be sane.

Re: Giving up reading news will make us happier

#42

Post by alecco » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 12:36 PM UTC

lovelearning wrote: post #36

Giving up political news didn't make me happier, but it certainly reduced that niggling feeling that everything is headed towards doom. It's said that "an informed citizenry is the bulwark of democracy", and that's probably why many of us consume so much political news. However, I feel seeing the news and expressing outrage privately or on social media have become low-effort excuses for not doing things that can actu…

> Giving up political news didn't make me happier, but it certainly reduced that niggling feeling that everything is headed towards doom.

I highly recommend Steven Pinker's "Enlightenment Now" (2018) as a cure against the doomsayers.

Re: Giving up reading news will make us happier

#43

Post by gtirloni » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 12:39 PM UTC

icebraining wrote: post #33

ragequitta wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm confused. How are y'all saying these things on a site called... Hacker.. news?

It may be called HN, but most of what gets posted here is not really "news".

Yes. I would categorize as "bad news" (or "news news") all the FB outrage, policital stuff, the Waymo lawsuit, etc. Bad as in getting to read them for very small content almost everyday doesn't help.

On the other hand, HN is very useful for keeping up with developments in my area, interesting technical articles, insightful discussions. HN is usually not "news news".

Re: Giving up reading news will make us happier

#44

Post by bovermyer » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 12:40 PM UTC

cirrus-clouds wrote: post #38

Of course you need to read the news. Select your news sources carefully and limit or eliminate your exposure to social media discussions of the news. I understand the sentiment that news can make you depressed, but reading the news can also spur people to act positively in a multitude of ways. When a natural disaster strikes and the news is filled with stories of anguish and despair in the aftermath, people donate to…

I've become very jaded about the world in general largely because I used to read the news every day.

News that I actually care about is the stuff I learn by talking to people in person. It's also a lot less likely to be negative news. Then, once it's been established that I care about it, I'll do research about it - whether that's talking to friends about personal news, or reading online about a new bill that would affect people I care about.

Re: Giving up reading news will make us happier

#45

Post by majewsky » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 12:43 PM UTC

some_account wrote: post #8

Haven't watched the news in at least 5 years. Actually I haven't watched TV in the last 5 years even. So I don't have ads bombarding me, or fear and propaganda coming in every day. Highly recommended. You have one life. Make sure it counts as a happy one.

I watch TV occassionally while cleaning the apartment etc., but only the public broadcasters' documentary channels. No ads, no breaking news, no day-to-day politics. The only thing that annoys me is when a historical documentary pushes its narrative of what's good and what's bad without allowing for any shade of gray inbetween.

Re: Giving up reading news will make us happier

#46

Post by ragequitta » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 12:43 PM UTC

brownbat wrote: post #9

I just listened to a podcast with Laurie Santos, all about her course on happiness research, which quickly became the most popular course ever taught at Yale. https://verybadwizards.fireside.fm/136 A shortened version of the course is available on Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being It's surprising how much the research validates things we all intuitively know or suspect about happiness…

Thanks for this. Watched the course intro and I'm definitely enrolling for April 9th.

Re: Giving up reading news will make us happier

#47

Post by lovelearning » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 12:49 PM UTC

alecco wrote: post #42

lovelearning wrote: post #36

Giving up political news didn't make me happier, but it certainly reduced that niggling feeling that everything is headed towards doom. It's said that "an informed citizenry is the bulwark of democracy", and that's probably why many of us consume so much political news. However, I feel seeing the news and expressing outrage privately or on social media have become low-effort excuses for not doing things that can actu…

> Giving up political news didn't make me happier, but it certainly reduced that niggling feeling that everything is headed towards doom. I highly recommend Steven Pinker's "Enlightenment Now" (2018) as a cure against the doomsayers.

Thanks for that recommendation! The book's summary certainly looks very relevant to what's happening in my mind, will definitely give it a read.

Re: Giving up reading news will make us happier

#48

Post by donw » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 12:56 PM UTC

It's not just news. I cut out mainstream media several years ago, and noted a definite improvement in my psychological well-being.

As of the end of last year, I stopped engaging in mainstream social media. So much better.

I still keep a Facebook account for Messenger and Events, but don't post, read timelines, or participate.

Not only do I have more time to read books and learn new things -- made pita bread from scratch for the first time this week -- but I am in general, notably happier and more focused.

I suspect that information hygiene is going to be one of the great underrated skills of the digital age.

Hacker News is an exception that I indulge in maybe once a week or two -- today's the day! -- as most of what ends up on here is worthwhile, and the moderation team has done an excellent job of keeping the signal-to-noise ratio high.

Quora also tends to be good, between Be Nice Be Respectful (BNBR), and the Real Name policy, although they recently went downhill by interleaving the standard cesspool that is mainstream news in the Quora feed.

Reddit... there are a few gold nuggets (/r/writingprompts), but overall it's just a crapfest.

Re: Giving up reading news will make us happier

#49

Post by flr03 » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 12:56 PM UTC

If being happy is your ultimate life goal then it's probably right. Although the quest for happiness should not be the only thing we work for. Personally I think this is a very selfish way of thinking. Being informed and capable of logical thinking considering your environment is equally important. That said, we should seek for good quality news and I agree with the article on this point about investigation journalism. But this is like research, it is essential, has a cost and not all the time succeeds.

As a citizen it's a duty to be well informed so we can participate in democracy efficiently (Quoting Greek philosophers here).

Re: Giving up reading news will make us happier

#50

Post by oldcynic » Thu, Apr 05, 2018, 1:03 PM UTC

Numberwang wrote: post #21

some_account wrote: post #8

Haven't watched the news in at least 5 years. Actually I haven't watched TV in the last 5 years even. So I don't have ads bombarding me, or fear and propaganda coming in every day. Highly recommended. You have one life. Make sure it counts as a happy one.

How do you stay up to day? Ideally Id like a weekly review or something where I can spend 30min. I recongnise it would be beneficial to give up news, but I need to know a bit about whats going on to be social.

For the most part why does it matter?

98% of news is of no import. The tiny fraction that will impact our lives to significant degree or have global effect will be almost impossible to miss.

You didn't need to watch the nightly bulletin or check a news site to hear of climate change, the US presidential election, Brexit and so on. You'd get to hear of those almost regardless of where you hang out on the internet.

The rest probably makes no difference to your life.