During the last ‘election summer’ things went haywire but ultimately nothing meaningful really happened, and not a whole lot really changed as a result of that unrest. This time things are going haywire again, and it seems like something big will happen but people thought that the last time… Would it just be better to ignore everything and go work on yourself, your skills, etc. or consume whatever thing is going on? The constant fear that’s being pushed is so emotionally exhausting… I’m finding it harder to care about these things without anything major happening, as shitty as that sounds
Try to stay informed, but also recognize that news is all going to be bad because humans engage with that more.
Learn to recognize when youve had enough bad news and then disengage and find something else to do.
Obligatory Wendover video, he’s better than that HAI guy.
It’s worth the 18mins of your time, even if it’s just to identify that nobody’s immune to advertising or propaganda, and what the negativity bias is.
Stay informed. When you feel like the news make you depressed, or even worse you start doomscrolling, take a break. There is a German word called Weltschmerz. It’s the pain you feel when the world seems to go to shit. It is a depressing form of dissatisfaction. I had this the last time when US and allies withdrew from Afghanistan and we left the people who helped us to die. The pictures of desperate people falling from planes still haunt me to this day. Then Russia invaded Ukraine and I doomscrolled for a couple of weeks.
I am not willing to sacrifice my mental health for this. So I cut news from my feed but I still read them every couple of days. Blissful ignorance can also not be accepted. I think the way I do it is a good compromise.
Uh. I’m always depressed after reading the news. And loose faith in humanity. I’m far better off meeting neighbors and realizing there are actually lots of nice people around. Or partying with family. Or reading a good book or working on my projects. Sometimes I get (politically) active in my neighbourhood.
I also have the urge to follow the news and politics. But in the end I don’t get anything out of it. And it doesn’t provide me with anything lasting for me. So I try to balance that… And national politics isn’t all there is. If you don’t like that show (and I think it’s more a show than anything else), you could also learn about European politics, or what’s going on in Korea (for example). I think that’s going to provide you with a broader perspective on the world, than just watching something that’s supposed to be a show to stir up emotions.
IMHO you always have to stay informed. Just find a news source that does not create too much FUD and you’re set. E.g: Axios, NPR, Reuters, etc
Always.
By now you probably have the gist of what’s going on - that won’t change. It’s useless to attend to it at the expense of your own actual life.
Most news outlets promote the outrageous and controversial stuff to get viewers face time. Try to go with informative but reasoned news sources. Also the MSM, and social media tries so hard to capture audiences that they miss vital but less sensational topics. That said, the AP presents pretty non-inflammatory news. I get news from comedians like Jon Stewart and Emmy Award winner John Oliver to lighten things up and Beau of the Fifth Column for unique non-partisan points of view.
If that’s your level of understanding, I would say you don’t really need to be paying more attention. You should just understand your specific level of ignorance and recognize that you’ll need to defer to the opinions of experts on whatever topic you hear about in the future.
If you refuse to learn about current events, and more importantly the context of those events in history and so on, then you have no choice but to trust experts that know more than you. In this context, expert means people that study/work in a field their entire life and are backed by the larger community of experts - that is to say, they’re not at risk of losing their license or being removed from their employer/academic institution.
Once you understand the major forces and their interests, there is little reason to follow day to say, it’s just poisonous.
You don’t have to keep up with all the news. Your mental health is more important. The most important news will be impossibe to avoid anyways. There will be memes about it and it will be on home pages of search and email sites, etc…
I find that it is better to consume more longform news over shorter term “breaking news”.
Nah. Nothing good is happening and you can’t do anything about any of it.
First one, then the other. Keep semi-regular contact, but don’t spend every waking moment on the news or social media, as you aren’t gaining much additional actionable information that way.
My thinking here is that I don’t need to pay attention to the news. When something happens that I should know of it’ll find its way into my awareness one way or another. I don’t need to go looking for it. If by ignoring the news I manage to avoid hearing about something entirely then it wasn’t important to begin with.
Personally I only go to one news site few times a day and I just scroll past most of it. On social media I block almost all of it, especially relating to politics. I’m still able to discuss current events with people and the topics that I cant, for example what some individual politican has said or did I’m not interested to discuss anyway.
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