How do you do it?
The quality of the news is decreasing to Facebook/reddit levels and designed to increase engagement by preying on your emotions. It’s much like marketing.
The book Factfulness by Hans Rosling has some good thoughts on this - mostly the world is getting better, but the news has to sell ads, which means telling dramatic stories.
If something is truly important, I’ll find out about it somehow (word of mouth etc).
That’s not to say I don’t skim the headlines once in a while, but let’s face it, it’s not really my job to know what is going on 24/7, so why worry about it?
Exactly this sentiment.
News doesn’t try to be objective anymore. Nowadays almost all tv hosts show their bias outright, even though they might invite people from the other side.
It’s sometimes like watching a daytime talk show. I just started ignoring anything news related lately on YouTube and reddit, and I can feel my negativity decreasing.
I remember a 10th or 11th grade English class (US public school) where they brought in a guest journalist. She basically told the class that readers would rather read about the story of a family who went through a tornado rather than stats about how fewer people are dying from tornados... so I suppose things haven’t really changed.
This is pretty much it: it's better to avoid reading news as a habit, and instead use the limited resources on finding quality information, regardless of the medium.
That is, don't stop following news. Instead, try to control, what news, where, when and on how often you consume. Prefer quality over quantity.
The biggest confusion regarding news stems from the semantics. Even though the name would imply that there is, or needs to be, something new in news, as in something fresh related to today's events that should be read the same day it was published. That's rarely the case. News is a medium of information delivery. It doesn't really matter when you consume it, or how often. News don't really get stale, if you read them a day later.
For a large part, news are already old the time they are published. They depict things that have taken place possibly days earlier, or have been published way before in other mediums, or don't actually matter whether they are published or read today or tomorrow.
That being said, there are cases when news deliver breaking information relevant to events taking place at the very same time, just in time to affect outcomes.
Many times, reading about these things the same day is not relevant for average person. This kind of information is primarily important for the greater public discussion. It is relevant for specialists, whether that's people or organisations, which in their position need to stay up to date with live events, or need to follow chronological order of information on events.
For an average reader, majority of news are not day specific. It's okay to read about them on a later date, or even from different sources, other than the ones initially breaking the news, with possibly additional commentary that provides greater insight on the topic.
It's totally okay to follow news non-daily. Weekly is still a plenty regular.
If you get depressed on a specific type of news, read less of them, take pauses, air your thoughts, and try to vary your news sources.
There's a great many interesting and important things taking place daily. It's totally okay to know about some of them a bit later.
For example, I don’t know what’s going on in New Zealand. I’ve heard vague things about the shooting from people talking about it but I’m not even going to bother looking it up.
People die every day for depressing reasons. This is just another event that is only differentiated by the fact that it captured the attention of a Western audience.
Instead, I’m focusing on other things that I’ve already decided need my time. Don’t let the news set your agenda. You can be informed on a slower cadence despite what people and the 24/7 news factory would want you to believe.
Short of an armed overthrowing od the government where I live, or aliens attacking, or an asteroid hitting the planet, I don't see how instantly knowing the "news" helps me keep my peace if mine.
I still listen to NPR. It seems to be slightly tame / a little bit liberal. (I need to listen to something during the day, as I'm a programmer in an open office.)
I read Bloomberg Business week,(actual paper edition) cause it's a little more business orientated and I don't see a big political agenda.
I have a kindle that is probably 6 years old, with limited features. I think it is awesome because I can just read a book and not accidentally click on a website...
I have stopped checking news sites, or have reduce it significantly. Zerohedge, splinternews...
What has helped the most, removing Facebook in 2010 and then twitter in 2017. That has been a relief and I feel as a burden has been lifted from me. Just cause I can, doesn't mean that I need to know what everybody thinks about a particular issue.
I also go to the gym for the sole purpose of getting away from the computer and phone. I rarely, use my phone while in bed. From dinner time to when my son goes to bed (about 3 hours) I put my phone away completely. I personally believe that the phone addiction is part of the problem with the 24 hour news cycle.
I don't have cable tv
1. The defending side never knows what's going on. If they know, they prevent it with available countermeasures, and there is nothing to make news from.
2. The offending side always uses the knowledge they have for propaganda. If they don't, it's because their news-making activities have been successfully prevented by the defending side.
3. Never spill the third thing if you don't want to start a needless flame war.
I don't watch the news since then.
Cable news changed everything, because then there was all day news, and competition between news sources. To succeed, it’s about engagement, not education. This has become amplified with the internet. All of the incentives are in place to manipulate you with emotional triggers and take advantage of your sympathies to get your clicks.
Not only does this not keep you “informed,” it actually helps give you an incorrect worldview that’s overly pessimistic.
To get a much better understanding of the world, and how to navigate this sort of media coverage, read the book Factfulness. It’s a much better use of your time and it turns out that the world is a much different place than the narratives you find in clickbait.
I am only really aware of news in a few enthusiast areas, where it's effectively a source of entertainment, and a bit of local news(and then mostly headlines). When I need to be informed about something(e.g. elections), then it is a research project like in school. My experience with news is that the more you try to "understand" events by consuming news product, the more you get drawn in to a manufactured story of some kind(whether it's "scene drama", conspiracies, apocalyptic fears or ineffectual radical causes). But boring news - demographic statistics, business summaries, legislation, and so forth - contains all the whispers of the truth, all the facts that we very loudly obscure under public dialogue.
To create the world I want to live in, I must actively live in a way that creates that world, which means managing who I am and how I behave, and discarding parts of the rat race, while not going to full hermit/off-grid mode. Letting my grip on things loosen to play is OK, but I have to put myself in a situation where I'm not just looking for random stimulation and grabbing whatever works.
Focus on the things you can control.
Also, try to limit your exposure to the news, be deliberate about how much information/spam/whatever you are bombarded with on a daily basis.
If you hear about something contemporary that interests you (terrorism, brexit, war in yemen, etc) take the time to research it properly. Even wikipedia is much more information-dense than any but the best newspaper articles.
Maybe what I'm saying is that you have to balance your diet with the awesome heroics that people constantly do and broaden your view of what is actually happening around the world. I don't have a simple answer to this, but what I can suggest is that maybe you look for science and engineering news, there might be positive sources for the developing human condition other than trashy journalism.
News has been angry and vicious for a long time, maybe it's just now starting to hurt everybody due to public exposure by social media, the vicious crews can now attack anybody who has a public surface, and everybody has public surface thanks to social media.
If you really need to "know", I suggest putting a reminder on your calendar to check Wikipedia current events [0] page once a week. And make a rule to not check it at any other time.
Basically I am noting that all "news" is filtered, edited, and often creatively rewritten. This is to maximize the likelihood of a particular desirable audience segment to interact with it.
So, yeah, I try to ignore pretty much all of it at this point. I skim some breaking news blogs/aggregators to see if anyone has started a war, or if there are disasters anywhere.
But I've learned to take everything "news" I read with a kg or two of salt. Its worse in science, where creative writing distorts actual discussions. The whole "IBM quantum computer went backward in time" bit from a few days ago is a perfect example of how wrong something can go by ignoring the language given to the reporter/PR firm, and replaced with a more creative exciting (in)equivalent paragraph. This is just one of a plethora of examples, but the point is, you generally cannot rely upon information content being accurate in the vast majority of writings.
I am sorry I am so cynical on this, but honestly, you'll feel much better if you stop reading the "news".
Note: scare quotes "" intentional.
Increased exposure to Despair-meme can also lead to apathy and paranoia. And this is just one of the well-known memetic hazards that the explorer of reality-tunnels should fear. Filter-bubbles and their habits to notice only useful things in your everyday life will also significantly reduce your chances of getting out of the pattern.
- Don't read the comments. If you are on FB/HN/Reddit, you are not coming across news organically, but rather from a feed that is based on a black box of votes and engagement metrics. You open the comments thinking you'll be talking to people with a broad range of views, and that will rarely happen.
- Comments on political topics are doubly exhausting to consume, as you are processing not just the article's thesis, but also the volume of comments, many of which are often phrased in a "Debate me!" way, that's not conducive to learning something new or changing your viewpoint on something.
- Slow, long form news >> live feed news. Internet browsing has changed as the medium adapted to consumption of news on mobile. Everything is excessively short so its easily consumable and (ugh) shareable, and the trickle of articles with limited net-new information makes you think you need to be online all the time to keep up. You don't. Subscribe to a newspaper and read the daily edition at your leisure. With the daily edition you'll get a discrete amount of content that's time-bounded, whereas the web edition has no beginning and no end, and can feel impossible to keep up with.
Not that I don't read any news, I just don't follow it, and try to avoid that type of news. I follow sites/blogs about things that interest me (arts, tech, science) and regarding political/philosophical stuff I read books. Sometimes I might be curious about some event (current or historical), in which case I'll go to look for the information I want to know from several different sources or if it's far back enough to have some books about it, get a book or two. For current news this is usually more than a few days after the event so info is also more accurate.
If you must:
- Choose an rss reader and curate your own sources.
- Read long-form news periodicals instead of the daily news, which tend to be less toxic.
I've never really understand that, because it discounts the fact that there is enormous value in every medium, you just have to skip the bad stuff.
I don't even notice that I do it, but hearing that made me realize how quickly I scan any of those media and just cherry pick the content I find valuable.
Maybe I'm just not as curious as other people, but I feel no obligation to read or look at something if it fails a 2 second gut check of "does this add value to my life?" No doubt, I probably skip a lot of good stuff, but I'm fine with the false negatives if I feel like I'm getting the valuable stuff I want frequently enough.
Another thing is especially in the last five years or so the number of pointless articles that do not inform or do real anything that end up as news just is too high. The article that is third or fourth to the post can be 100x more valuable in actually showing references or deeper analysis. It's ok to put the news on hold to stop eating your time/money. Also ditch 95% of opinion articles as hopeless.
So headlines aside I just don’t bother anymore
To paraphrase Nietzsche, work on your garden away from the storm of life. The world is merciless to phenomenal entities and it won't bend to your self-indignation.
Atlas isn't merely a mythological figure he's a cautionary tale.
It may be what you need
Don't think that because all you read is bad that the world is bad.
Hope you're doing better!
Most items are covered many times a day.
Seriously.
Once you embrace the chaos, all of the toxicity is practically pornographic.
Tragedies are sad though. Just take comfort that they are less frequent all the time.
First things first: everyone telling you to run away and do nothing is wrong. It's fine to limit your exposure to the World Wide Skinner Box and all, especially if it is eating all your free time, but disconnecting entirely is not the answer.
The word "idiot" comes to us from ancient Greece. “Idiotes” (ΙΔΙΩΤΕΣ) was a word used to describe people who abdicated their civic duties and stayed entirely absorbed in their own lives. Yes, it was meant as an insult. It still is, but it used to, too.
Your problem is that you aren't an idiot.
The best thing you can do is go out and act on these feelings. Getting stuck in a loop of "Read, refresh, despair" absolutely sucks. It makes a person feel so helpless. It's the worst.
The trick is to realize that you aren't actually helpless. Sure, you can't personally convince everyone in your country that maybe they shouldn't (for example) throw away democracy, nor can you expect to solve world hunger all alone. The biggest problems can't be solved all in one go by an individual. This can be hard to admit, especially for we folks who grew up reading sci-fi competency porn, but the first step to feeling better about your place in the world is to be honest about what you can do from a standing start. You're only human, and that's OK.
But still, you can act, and in a big way. How? What you CAN do is apply the same skills you use in programming to the big problems, i.e. break down the problem of your choice into smaller pieces that you CAN realistically attack. Then, pick a promising problem fragment and budget time, say 3-5 hours a week to start with. Don't try to do too much, especially at first, lest it become a huge burden that you resent. You still need to have time for fun stuff like visiting friends and wrecking noobs on your favorite war-themed hat simulator.
The easiest way to do this (in my personal experience) is to find a local cause to attach yourself to. You can absolutely make a huge difference in your local space. Bonus points if you can use your particular skill set to help, that's a substantial multiplier!
Does a local charity you like run their entire operation off of a 12 year old Dell Opteron running Windows Vista? BOOM, you can help!
Local political campaigns are just getting started, and getting in now will give your opinions more weight inside the campaign organizations since you'll be getting in on the ground floor. Does a local candidate need help managing their data operations via VANS/whatever the Republicans use? Could you run for something? BOOM, there you go!
Hell, it may be enough to find a meetup of people who drink (beer or coffee) and worry about the same things you do. History has loads of examples of great stuff that has come from sharp people hanging out in bars and cafes and shooting the shit (Bar napkins can be used for way more than physics problems!). Plus, you might get some new friends, which is also great for pulling yourself out of the aforementioned dark places all on its own.
If your experience matches mine, you'll feel loads better having put your shoulder to the burden and pushed. You won't be a bystander anymore. Agency is a currency that feels like solid gold, my friend. It won't make things not suck, not immediately, but you'll be doing your part, and that'll go a long way.
Oh and daily news is often presented in a very boring way, you don't have that so much with in-depth articles or even books about politics, those are sometimes even written in an ironic way. (Stating the obvious but probably it also makes sense not to read too many right wing sources with an aggressive sentiment - although as a proper democrat one should cross read. Still, reading a little tabloid stuff can be really funny btw.)
If I want deeper topics, I know where to look. I started looking at more tech news, but i stray away from sites that insisted on getting more and more political. I get really burnt out on the constant anti-Trump mentality.
Oh, and quit using Facebook. Curtailing facebook usage alone helped me out a lot.