IT'S NOT DENIAL.
I'M JUST SELECTIVE ABOUT
THE REALITY I ACCEPT.
(Bill Watterson)
I remember when we used to get our news from the newspaper and/or from watching TV at certain times, like at 6 pm or 11 pm. Now, the news is everywhere, all the time. And it usually isn't good.
It started getting to me. I checked news sites throughout the day, way more than was necessary. I thought it was important to be well-informed, to know what was going on in the world. I didn't want to be a person whose head was stuck in the sand.
But the sand is looking pretty good. My mind and my heart can only take so much before I want to crawl under my desk and weep at the sadness, the horror, the stupidity in the world.
So, yes, I will continue to check the news but a lot less. I probably won't be able to participate in a conversation about world events, but I will listen and learn. I will see the "bad" but I will also search out the "good" - for balance, for joy, for sanity.
The stupidity of the world - you got that right. I know my limit on the negative news.
ReplyDeleteI have to set those limits for myself or else I'll get dragged down and under.
DeleteI remember when news was less varnished. Back then journalists didn't display their politics. They reported the news good or bad. Now it's all about ratings and click bait. They're storytellers rather than reporters. I miss the old days.
ReplyDeleteI've lost track lately of the number of headlines I've seen that were more sensational than the actual story. But I guess I fell in the trap - the headline made me click then I read the story. Problem was, I read the story then felt sort of deceived by the headline. None of it left a good taste in my mouth.
DeleteI rarely check news sites...most of the time I see news over on the right column of my Facebook feed and click over! Yes, it usually is bad, especially lately. I just am better off not knowing.
ReplyDeleteSeeing the news off to the side on my screen would distract me like crazy. I used to leave the news site open/minimized. Now I close it out, open it only a few times during the day.
DeleteI used to watch the news all the time. Then I went years without watching it because it was too depressing. Now I tune in a couple of times a day just to hear what is going on, since things are so crazy nowadays.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it's the news itself and it's also how it's everywhere, all the time. I've got to limit my exposure to it.
DeleteI've started watching the news a bit more recently (my fiance likes to watch it) and you're right--it's always terrible things. Sometimes it's better just to tune it out.
ReplyDeleteI think it's different for everyone - some people have higher tolerances for negative news, some people can take it for awhile then need to back off a bit, etc.
DeleteA good plan, I think. I can get obsessive when something big is going on--the fires in the Pacific NW this month had me constantly checking--but I think it is bad for blood pressure and attention span. Best to set a couple times and call it good.
ReplyDeleteI've gotten hooked on certain news stories myself. I'm not usually sure why some do that to me and not others. I think something triggers my writer's brain into action, it starts clicking and whirring....
DeleteI check the national and world news for a few minutes every morning and then the local news at night, mostly to get the weather report. It can wear on you to watch or read too much of it.
ReplyDeleteSusan Says
I use the weather app on my phone to check the weather. Unless there's a chance of a tropical storm or a hurricane, then I go to the National Hurricane Center website.
DeleteI feel ya. I actively avoid the news, but even still it weeds its way in - mostly from Twitter and Facebook. Some days, I just wanna say screw it and go live in a treehouse or something. This world is too sad for me.
ReplyDeleteI usually say I want to go live in a cave, but I like the treehouse idea better. :)
DeleteHave stopped reading/watching/listening to the news, except in the morning. With 2016 election coming up, I may disconnect TV altogether.
ReplyDeleteWe've cut the cord, so no cable for us but that election news is already everywhere online. And it's only going to get worse. Sigh.
DeleteI truly believe balance is the key to everything. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from Elements of Writing
Yep. And I'm learning, too, that everyone's idea of balance is different. Even our own concept of it changes for different stages of our lives.
DeleteI know how you feel. I try to just read the newspaper twice a week, check a few news sites, and otherwise, I just don't. I pray for the world and the people in it, especially those who are victims of the horror and the strife, but I also pray for the ones who seem so insane and horrible to me - I keep praying for their hearts and minds to change.
ReplyDeleteI try to remember that there is good in the world - joy, fun, kindness, inspiration, beauty, etc. We just need to do better searching it out, portraying it, celebrating it.
DeleteIf we watch too much news, Madeline, we'll all sink into a big depression that even chocolate won't cure. I keep up on the most important stories because I feel I need to be informed, but that doesn't mean letting the media assault me 24/7 with their wild efforts to draw an audience to horror and despair. It's sick.
ReplyDeleteI think part of the trick is figuring out what are the "most important stories" to us and to our lives.
Delete