Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the fourth day of the month is "Information."
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When I was teaching, I stayed on top of the news. I never knew when a student was going to ask me about the latest legislation or the war in Myanmar. But once I stopped teaching, I also stopped reading the headlines every morning and clicking refresh on NPR's homepage every hour. I checked in occasionally and religiously checked the local news, but I wasn't always willing to deal with the stress of the news daily.
I've been trying to dip my toes back in to regular news consumption. But today I read about how the 5th Circuit Court ruled that the government cannot legally remove firearms from people who have civil protective orders against them. So, hey, you have enough evidence that a judge granted you a protection order, but that's not enough for us to take away the guns of your stalker/abuser. Oh, boy. The legal reasoning for this relies on a court case with more logical flaws than my cat when she wants dinner an hour and a half early. But so we go on.
Then I read about ice storms in Texas and people without power for days on end. Mass shootings. A woman who someone thought was dead, but was not and woke up gasping for air at a funeral home.
And then I just stopped and read a novel because it turns out I do not know what to do with this bad news floating around in my brain.
I try to stay abreast of the latest news, but like you I find it disturbing. And so many news stories are about issues that make no sense. I suppose if I could learn to suspend my logical mind I'd find the news, or maybe the ways in which it is presented, less off-putting.
ReplyDeleteIt's challenging to know which media outlets to trust, that's for sure. Are they presenting the information in a way that makes sense and is parallel to the story's importance? It's so hard to know these days.
DeleteI know this is a controversial subject, but I hardly consume ANY news. I can't deal with the bad news floating around in my brain, and I don't think it's healthy or useful to read about tragedies in remote locations where there's nothing I can do to help. I do get the counterargument though, which is that it's good to stay somewhat informed. But if something really big happens, I hear about it and then I can look it up. i'm sure this approach would not work for everyone. And I have to admit I'm intrigued by the woman who woke up gasping for air at the funeral home! How in the world does that happen??? I guess I'm going to have to read about that one!
ReplyDeleteI think that is a controversial stance. I just feel like it's my job to be a good citizen (of my town, city, state, world) and part of that is knowing what is going on. But sometimes I wonder if I'd be better off with an approach like yours when I'd only look things up if they came across my radar organically.
DeleteOmg I just read the article. How embarrassing for the care home, and how astonishing it must have been for the people at the funeral home! I'll bet that's never happened before. At least I hope not.
ReplyDeleteI hope it doesn't happen often! CAN YOU IMAGINE?!
DeleteIt's a difficult balance. I've been a news junkie for decades, and I was especially active in politics. I worked hard for candidates and issues and bills I believed in, calling reps and senators (local, state, and federal), writing letters and emails, and working for campaigns at all levels. As you can imagine, I burned out, especially after midterms 2018. At some point I had to regain my Zen. I want to be informed and I want to help. I want to be part of the solution; we are all affected and connected. I've eschewed the 24-hour news channels and watch one local news show and one national news show, and read the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. And each morning I get the NYT newsletter that has a roundup and explainer of several topics. That's it. As far as politics, I wait until I see where they need me, and then I hook in, but in a very, very limited way. I just can't do it all anymore.
ReplyDeleteYes, I absolutely understand this. I was a news junkie, too, but it was so hard to stay positive when the news constantly beat me down. You seem to have hit on a good medium way for you and that's great.
DeleteI think it was Jan 2022, which was a pretty dark time if you recall, that I decided I would stop reading the news. I had been reading Covid numbers on the daily, usually several times a day, and everything else, and it was just too much for my mental state. So I stopped entirely. I will look at headlines now, and occasionally read an article just to not be ignorant, but mostly I just try to focus on local headlines, at most.
ReplyDeleteI am still obsessive with local news. I mean, that stuff impacts my daily life!
DeleteI used to be a big consumer of news (multiple times a day - CBC and BBC), but during COVID it got to be too much. I now skim BBC headlines once or twice a week and that is it. I try to stay aware of local issues, but it was too much for me mentally to bear the burdens of the world - about which I was helpless - AND bear the burdens of my own life and in the lives of those I love. I had a friend losing a spouse to cancer - that's where my energy needs to flow, not to some tragic cancer story on the news. I try to focus on spreading love and joy in my own circle and hope that radiates out.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. I also think that my duty as a good citizen is important, though, so I struggle with the idea that I shouldn't know world news. *sigh* I guess we can't know all things and get through life unscathed.
DeleteAfter the lockdown was lifted, I stopped reading the news. The media industry is a business that relies on numbers to thrive. There are a lot of terrible things happening in the world. There are also many great things happening in the world. I was convinced that I needed to be aware of current events. But, it was having an effect on my mental health, and I needed to do what was best for me.
ReplyDeleteSure, you have to take care of yourself!
DeleteWhat goes on down/over there makes little sense to the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteWell, world news matters, too. I am a global citizen, too!
DeleteSometimes I feel like I should be more informed, and I try to keep up with the news... but every. single. time. I get so despondent that I have to stop. It seems like there is only bad news (which cannot be accurate, can it?), and that there is no hope of a future for any of us. Maybe this is true, but in that case I would rather spend my limited time remaining on earth NOT feeling deeply depressed and panicked.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely understand this. You definitely have to take care of your own mental health first.
DeleteWe stopped getting the Madison paper and the MKE paper last year because we didn’t always read it, and it was messy and wasteful, and my news consumption took a turn. I am making a concerted effort to read my logical paper digitally every day (we kept the digital subscription) and listen to NPR’s Up Next podcast and either The Daily or What a Day. Plus I get a bunch of NYT alerts. Podcasts work well for me—so bite-sized.
ReplyDeleteLOCAL not logical—autocorrect on my iPad is really aggressive.
DeleteHa! I read it as local without even realizing you made a typo. I do listen to a handful of news podcasts, but I only download the ones I'm super interested in, so I bet I do miss a lot. Oh, well, I'm just doing my best.
DeleteI'm right with you. When I don't read the news I feel like I'm hiding in my privileged bubble. When I do I get headachey and winded with impotent rage. At this time of year especially I am sticking to what I can do - donate money a few places where it will help, be kind to the people I encounter daily, and refrain from doomscrolling.
ReplyDeleteYES!! This is exactly right. It IS such a privilege to be able to ignore it, isn't it? Sounds like you have a system that works for you and that's admirable.
DeleteI read most of the Boston Globe, parts of the Washington Post, and the local bits of my local paper every morning--has to be morning, because I am not a morning person, so all the bad news doesn't hit me as hard (it's bad enough when I'm not fully awake). I do NOT understand how anyone can stand to watch TV news, though, and I say this as someone who grew up with her parents watching the local and then the national news every night. But it's so awful now! My aunt turned it on one night on our trip, and I had to leave the room. I couldn't stand the video--what they're doing to him is going to kill him, how can anyone watch that? How can they stand it? I feel I am informed enough, between reading the papers and catching news on Twitter, but the videos are way, way too much for me.
ReplyDeleteI've never watched news, but I do see what you say about seeing the actual video footage having a greater impact on your mental health. It sounds like you're way more informed about things than I can handle and that's impressive!
DeleteYeah, staying on top of the news and not consuming every horrible/ridiculous/outrageous news that is out there is an art. I don't blame you for stepping away again.
ReplyDeleteYes, but I can't remain uninformed forever! I gotta get back to work.
DeleteI have a digital subscription to our local paper, The Star Tribune. The amount of time I spend reading it ebbs and flows. We used to watch more evening news programs, like the CBS national program at 5CST but now that is a time when I'm scrambling to get food on the table. Or we'd watch the local news or the PBS news hour. Now we are entertaining the boys during the time. So my news consumption has really dropped since having kids but when Will has a longer attention span and can do things like color maybe we'll get back to watching it a bit more regularly? I also listen sporadically to the NYT Daily podcast which keeps me abreast of big news stories.
ReplyDeleteWatching news has never been a thing I've ever done! Seeing video is so challenging. I have to give you props for doing that and prioritizing it.
DeleteI find that the news just fills my brain (and heart) with dread. It's not good for my psyche whatsoever. At some point I decided to take care of me instead of knowing what's happening....especially since I can't control or help most of it.
ReplyDeleteI feel you on that. It's important to prioritize your own mental health. I do just wonder if I'm doing a disservice to the world at large, though, when I just tune out.
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