Reading the news is the new smoking • Hacker News Board

Re: Reading the news is the new smoking

#41

Post by mattnewton » Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 5:31 PM UTC

appplication wrote: post #37

afavour wrote: post #27

This feels dangerous. Being obsessed with reading the news, watching endless cable news, getting steams of push notifications… yeah, unhealthy. But completely ignorance of what’s going on in the world is not something to be lauded. It’s how we’ve ended up in the situation we find ourselves in today, a fact free environment where politicians get away with murder (sometimes literally!) because so many people aren’t pay…

So the counterpoint to this is that we are collectively getting more news and more updates than ever before and we’re still in the situation of today. I can’t argue with your premise because I agree, but the empirical data shows that if anything there is a positive correlation between accessibility of information and further descent into… whatever it is you’d describe is our modern situation. It may not be causative…

In the US, I think we are being intentionally DDOS-ed.

This strategy was laid out by Steve Bannon in the old frontline PBS interview where he called the media “the opposition party.”

“They’re dumb and they’re lazy, they can only focus on one thing at a time,” he said. “All we have to do is flood the zone. … Bang, bang, bang. These guys will never – will never be able to recover. But we’ve got to start with muzzle velocity.”

Also see Vance’s recent comments about how nobody would hold Nixon accountable for watergate if it happened today, it would be lost in the next news cycle.

Re: Reading the news is the new smoking

#42

Post by EA-3167 » Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 5:32 PM UTC

appplication wrote: post #37

afavour wrote: post #27

This feels dangerous. Being obsessed with reading the news, watching endless cable news, getting steams of push notifications… yeah, unhealthy. But completely ignorance of what’s going on in the world is not something to be lauded. It’s how we’ve ended up in the situation we find ourselves in today, a fact free environment where politicians get away with murder (sometimes literally!) because so many people aren’t pay…

So the counterpoint to this is that we are collectively getting more news and more updates than ever before and we’re still in the situation of today. I can’t argue with your premise because I agree, but the empirical data shows that if anything there is a positive correlation between accessibility of information and further descent into… whatever it is you’d describe is our modern situation. It may not be causative…

Nonetheless the comparison to smoking is downright silly. Smoking is notable for being one of the most lethal habits held by a large number of people, which offers few if any concrete benefits, persisting almost entirely because of the powerful addiction it engenders.

Paying attention to the news can be almost anything from pointlessly harmful, to entirely necessary. "The News" isn't just reading outrage coverage and politics, world events beyond the muttering of politicians and business leaders exists. There's also such a thing as curating and moderating your intake, as well as dealing with underlying issues. A lot of people who feel overwhelmed or made helpless by the problems in their lives take that energy and apply it to global problems instead, especially young people.

That's not the news being "toxic" like nicotine and smoke though, that the collision of emotional instability and reality.

Re: Reading the news is the new smoking

#43

Post by eykanal » Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 5:34 PM UTC

afavour wrote: post #27

This feels dangerous. Being obsessed with reading the news, watching endless cable news, getting steams of push notifications… yeah, unhealthy. But completely ignorance of what’s going on in the world is not something to be lauded. It’s how we’ve ended up in the situation we find ourselves in today, a fact free environment where politicians get away with murder (sometimes literally!) because so many people aren’t pay…

As someone who is on a pretty strict news diet, this is exactly the wrong reaction. As it turns out, it's pretty easy to be informed about important thing without visiting any news websites.

* You can have direct email feeds about the things you find important.

* You can use RSS readers curated to your interests.

* You can listen to podcasts.

* You can—gasp!—talk to people around you who are more knowledgeable than you on these areas.

News websites make money of you visiting and staying on their site, so they give you stuff that will get you to come back. Their interests are almost certainly not aligned with yours.

If you define your own priorities, you can define for yourself what it means to pay attention and be informed, and then seek "news" specifically on those topics.

Re: Reading the news is the new smoking

#44

Post by cosmic_cheese » Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 5:35 PM UTC

afavour wrote: post #27

This feels dangerous. Being obsessed with reading the news, watching endless cable news, getting steams of push notifications… yeah, unhealthy. But completely ignorance of what’s going on in the world is not something to be lauded. It’s how we’ve ended up in the situation we find ourselves in today, a fact free environment where politicians get away with murder (sometimes literally!) because so many people aren’t pay…

I thought we had a nice balance in the 80s/90s. Very little of most peoples' days were tied up in the news cycle, with most only catching local/world news on TV in the evening and maybe reading the sunday newspaper.

Just enough to stay roughly informed, yet not drowning in it.

Re: Reading the news is the new smoking

#45

Post by dghlsakjg » Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 5:37 PM UTC

appplication wrote: post #37

afavour wrote: post #27

This feels dangerous. Being obsessed with reading the news, watching endless cable news, getting steams of push notifications… yeah, unhealthy. But completely ignorance of what’s going on in the world is not something to be lauded. It’s how we’ve ended up in the situation we find ourselves in today, a fact free environment where politicians get away with murder (sometimes literally!) because so many people aren’t pay…

So the counterpoint to this is that we are collectively getting more news and more updates than ever before and we’re still in the situation of today. I can’t argue with your premise because I agree, but the empirical data shows that if anything there is a positive correlation between accessibility of information and further descent into… whatever it is you’d describe is our modern situation. It may not be causative…

Not all information is equal.

If you read a wide spectrum of news sources with high standards (established non-tabloid newspapers and reputable long form publishers), I would be willing to bet that you are far better off (pick any metric) than someone spending the same amount of time with OAN/Fox/Daily Mail, etc.

This goes for someone anywhere on the political spectrum; I'm not just picking on the right. I would much rather live in a society of people that I don't necessarily agree with but that get their information from sources that value truth, than live with people of the same ideological bent, but only get their news from propaganda.

I can have a conversation with someone who thinks we're on the wrong side of the peak on the Laffer curve and wants to lower government spending. I can't have a conversation with someone that heard that immigrant run daycares are feeding pets to children and that we should cut daycare programs from the government budget.

Re: Reading the news is the new smoking

#46

Post by kanbankaren » Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 5:39 PM UTC

appplication wrote: post #37

afavour wrote: post #27

This feels dangerous. Being obsessed with reading the news, watching endless cable news, getting steams of push notifications… yeah, unhealthy. But completely ignorance of what’s going on in the world is not something to be lauded. It’s how we’ve ended up in the situation we find ourselves in today, a fact free environment where politicians get away with murder (sometimes literally!) because so many people aren’t pay…

So the counterpoint to this is that we are collectively getting more news and more updates than ever before and we’re still in the situation of today. I can’t argue with your premise because I agree, but the empirical data shows that if anything there is a positive correlation between accessibility of information and further descent into… whatever it is you’d describe is our modern situation. It may not be causative…

> we’re still in the situation of today.

What situation are you talking about?

The world is less violent, more affluent than 30 years ago, but appears to be the opposite due to 24/7 news cycle.

Re: Reading the news is the new smoking

#47

Post by bee_rider » Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 5:40 PM UTC

afavour wrote: post #27

This feels dangerous. Being obsessed with reading the news, watching endless cable news, getting steams of push notifications… yeah, unhealthy. But completely ignorance of what’s going on in the world is not something to be lauded. It’s how we’ve ended up in the situation we find ourselves in today, a fact free environment where politicians get away with murder (sometimes literally!) because so many people aren’t pay…

I dunno. I feel strongly about national level politics but I haven’t turned this feeling into anything other than voting. The optimal amount of news for me might actually be just enough to know who to vote for which… isn’t much these days.

Re: Reading the news is the new smoking

#48

Post by dadkins » Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 5:43 PM UTC

Aromasin wrote: post #7

In the same vein as this article, the best thing I've ever done might just be leaving my phone by the front door when I get home, and getting rid of our TV. All I do is read books, paint, fix-up the house, tend to the garden, play boardgames, and generally do things that require me to be present when at home with my wife and child, rather than in someone else's version of the world. We go stir crazy at home now, a se…

I'm of two minds about this. Facebook and Instagram keep me connected with friends, new and old. True, they're filled with algorithmic crap now, but when I tried ditching them for a while, it didn't improve my connections with people. If anything, I lost touch with people because that's where they were. I'm much better off knowing what my friends -- many who have scattered -- are up to, and giving casual updates myself.

On the other hand, yes, absolutely put the phone down at the dinner table and engage with those who are present. No questions there.

Finally, my kids are getting to the age where their friends have phones and use them to communicate. My kids don't yet have that and are reliant on me to text parents, which is a lot of friction for everyone involved. Their summer is very boring because they hardly get to see their friends. So, sure, fight boredom by entertaining yourself, but that's a lonely existence.

Re: Reading the news is the new smoking

#49

Post by afavour » Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 5:43 PM UTC

kanbankaren wrote: post #46

appplication wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So the counterpoint to this is that we are collectively getting more news and more updates than ever before and we’re still in the situation of today. I can’t argue with your premise because I agree, but the empirical data shows that if anything there is a positive correlation between accessibility of information and further descent into… whatever it is you’d describe is our modern situation. It may not be causative…

> we’re still in the situation of today. What situation are you talking about? The world is less violent, more affluent than 30 years ago, but appears to be the opposite due to 24/7 news cycle.

For those of us living in the US there is a clear backslide in corruption, attempts at voter suppression and increased economic inequality compared to just a few years ago.

Expanding out to the entire world and choosing the arbitrary point of thirty years ago doesn’t change that fact.

Re: Reading the news is the new smoking

#50

Post by afavour » Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 5:46 PM UTC

eykanal wrote: post #43

afavour wrote: post #27

This feels dangerous. Being obsessed with reading the news, watching endless cable news, getting steams of push notifications… yeah, unhealthy. But completely ignorance of what’s going on in the world is not something to be lauded. It’s how we’ve ended up in the situation we find ourselves in today, a fact free environment where politicians get away with murder (sometimes literally!) because so many people aren’t pay…

As someone who is on a pretty strict news diet, this is exactly the wrong reaction. As it turns out, it's pretty easy to be informed about important thing without visiting any news websites. * You can have direct email feeds about the things you find important. * You can use RSS readers curated to your interests. * You can listen to podcasts. * You can—gasp!—talk to people around you who are more knowledgeable than y…

Why are podcasts exempt from the “they make money off you coming back” issue? They have the exact same motives.

Non profit news also doesn’t have the issues you’re describing. Sites like Propublica do incredible work.

The reality is that everyone has a perspective. That person you have a conversation with doesn’t necessarily have an unbiased opinion. They may have incentives if their own to convince you of something. That’s why a varied media diet is a better option.