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I made a decision this morning to quit compulsively watching the news, unsub from all my Facebook news feeds, and unfollow any person or group that posts news articles. I was watching CBSN starting in the morning and MSNBC throughout the day and at night. It was upsetting me, this constant barrage of confrontational noise.
Bad things are probably happening but there is really not much I can do about it. Can't tolerate crowds, so I can't march or protest. Don't want my name on any governmental petitions. It's all worrying me and distracting me and making me ill. And then to add to that, all the violent, war-like movies and tv shows.
There is probably some academic term in psychology for all this. What is it? Anybody know? Media overload?
Since I turned it all off I feel more at peace. I have time to think. I taught for three hours, and then just sat and thought, and didn't compulsively turn it all back on.
I don't watch US news. Too much propaganda, fake news, bickering and negativity. Can't change stupidity anyway.
Welcome to the world of “alternative facts”. It is a bewildering maze of claim and counterclaim, where hoaxes spread with frightening speed on social media and spark angry backlashes from people who take what they read at face value.
I am not experiencing anxieties, but I get my news from more reliable sources...
I don't watch US news. Too much propaganda, fake news, bickering and negativity. Can't change stupidity anyway.
Welcome to the world of “alternative facts”. It is a bewildering maze of claim and counterclaim, where hoaxes spread with frightening speed on social media and spark angry backlashes from people who take what they read at face value.
I am not experiencing anxieties, but I get my news from more reliable sources...
What are the more reliable sources?
I associate stupidity, fake news, alternative facts and people who take what they read at face value, with the other side, the Fox News watchers, not the folks who watch the liberal programming. You seem to be chunking them altogether.
So, yours is a very refreshing perspective, I guess.
I have trouble with this partly because I used to "be" government. My concern went beyond the general public/taxpayer's. I really and truly cared about the work I did and because I was on the inside, knew more about trickle-down ramifications from stupid politically-motivated knee jerk actions. I found that "allowing" myself one viewing of news per day helped a lot, as I wouldn't be completely ignorant, completely railroaded by media frenzy, yet no longer living with it uppermost in my mind all day every day. I also try to view US and world news from non-US sources. The contrast to our media noise will show up. Every single source will have a bias in some way; gotta accept that. If some particular issue seems important I'll read up on it more. Eventually the bias becomes obvious.
Last edited by Parnassia; 06-28-2018 at 09:25 PM..
I'm inclined to welcome anything that will enlighten me and move me closer to the truth of matters, even if (to paraphrase Russell) it contradicts my most cherished beliefs. I really believe in that principle.
I am like you, OP. I burned out on the hysteria and chaos. Took about 2 weeks off completely from the news. Now, I just occasionally watch PBS Newshour. At least that broadcast isn't hysterical screaming panels of people. But, it is biased, too. I try to see both sides of an issue, because there always are two sides, and what we need to do is sit down and compromise, which just doesn't seem to be happening much.
I have realized that there are a lot of people out there who are brilliant and tenacious and who have my best interests at heart, who are busy advocating for us and who have the energy and personality to deal with it. So, I don't have to.
Once I unplugged, it's amazing how much more energy I have and how much more I'm getting accomplished in my life. The news just simply exhausts me. I'm so glad I don't have to stay engaged. I'm here ready to show up at a march if I need to, and to vote when it's time. But, otherwise, I'm going to trust that those energetic advocates will keep up the good fight, so I don't have to.
I have long been a news and political junkie. I voted for Trump and remain for Trump. Still, the constant drumbeat of political news is mentally exhausting. The cadence of it all, event to event, is much faster than it was twenty or even ten years ago. You cannot get through one day without Trump saying something stupid, the opposition being stupid, and the bickering continuing endlessly. It is difficult to even keep track of what happened each day because it all happens rapidly.
I used to participate in organized party politics, but no longer. The solution is to fundamentally transform your own psyche. Have your own code of ethics and people you stand with. Avoid daily political machinations like a plague. The solution is not political.
I think you have the right idea. The "breaking news" hashtag really pisses me off. 98% of the things people tag "breaking news" is just run-of-the-mill stuff. I remember when breaking news was for actual emergencies. The 24/hr media cycle is only good for lowering the planet's vibration. I hate to get all spiritual, but really...that's what it does. Keeping people in fear. Scared people do crazy things.
I won't watch the news on TV, but I have a hard time avoiding it online. I haven't wanted to watch the news for years, because where I live it feels like every news story is about a crime. That was bad enough. And now you have what politics has turned into and constant stories about racism and sexism. All the stuff about crime was enough to make me feel unsafe in the world. And now, as I mentioned in your thread the other day, I feel unsafe for new reasons and completely hated by absolutely everyone. Various news sources try every now and then to throw a positive story in the mix, something to try and redeem people's perception of humanity, but 99% of news stories are enough to make you feel several negative ways, whether it's "anxious," "unsafe," "hated" or something else.
The way browsers are set up now, you can open one up and immediately see news. I walk over to my boss' desk sometimes to talk to him and see him looking at news. People I know ask me almost daily if I heard about xyz. But, also, I just don't feel comfortable completely unplugging from news because there are some things I feel I need to be aware of. And unplugging from it is also not going to help me have peace--I can't stop thinking about everything that is wrong with the US or how unsafe and hated I feel just because I'm not hearing/reading/seeing things that confirm it. And I feel that if I did stop thinking about it, I'd be putting myself in an even more unsafe position.
My father watches CNN literally 24/7, except for occasional sports breaks, and my mother and I keep asking him how/why he does it and he won't answer us. And CNN repeats stories just all day long. Like I basically said in your other thread, listening to this stuff should make you hate people/the world, because it has played roles in my hating people/the world.
I'm inclined to welcome anything that will enlighten me and move me closer to the truth of matters, even if (to paraphrase Russell) it contradicts my most cherished beliefs. I really believe in that principle.
You already stated that you basically believe that conservative viewpoints are stupid, so you do not in fact welcome opposing beliefs. How can you believe in your ‘welcoming principal’ when you automatically reject ideas coming from the other side?
This is the heart of liberal hypocrisy.
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