Is it even worth it keeping up with the news?

[Creechan12]

I've thought about it thinking about it for a while, especially today, and that's should I care about the news? I read headlines that make feel an overwhelming sense of dread and there's nothing I can do about it. I get pretty easily overwhelmed, I don't want to be one those sheep not knowing what's happening in the outside world or what's happening in my country. but at the same time, what can I do? What will staying informed do for me? It's all so damn exhausting, I hate the politicians, and I hate companies, there's seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel. And here I am barely making it through college, which I'm not even sure will be worth it when I get out.

How do you guys keep up with it? the constant thunderous tornado storm of doom and gloom? It's probably bad right now with election season. But I am curious to hear how you people deal with it?

 

[nakadashi]

It is not!

Whatever that impacts you will eventually make its way to you any way. Friends or family will tell you about it and even then, the amount of things in which you could likely make an impact is minimal. Remember, news organizations are inherently entertainment organizations, whose agenda includes selling the idea of the informed citizen, just like tobacco companies sell the idea of the cool smoker.

I haven't actively consumed news for over a year now and I can tell you that life is much more fulfilling once you stop worrying about every single thing in the Universe. Does this mean that you should become ostracized and stop contributing to society? No, but this is a path that you must discover by yourself, according to your wants and your needs, and news consumption is the noise preventing you to do so. It is a lot like meditating, in which in order to do so you must stop thinking about past and future and concentrate in what is happening now: your body, your mind, your family, your friends, an old lady you saw on the street, a little kid who needs help. Those are things you can have an impact on and don't fill you with anxiety, not to mention that while doing so you will feel much more fulfilled.

 

[Creechan12]

It is not!

Whatever that impacts you will eventually make its way to you any way. Friends or family will tell you about it and even then, the amount of things in which you could likely make an impact is minimal. Remember, news organizations are inherently entertainment organizations, whose agenda includes selling the idea of the informed citizen, just like tobacco companies sell the idea of the cool smoker.

I haven't actively consumed news for over a year now and I can tell you that life is much more fulfilling once you stop worrying about every single thing in the Universe. Does this mean that you should become ostracized and stop contributing to society? No, but this is a path that you must discover by yourself, according to your wants and your needs, and news consumption is the noise preventing you to do so. It is a lot like meditating, in which in order to do so you must stop thinking about past and future and concentrate in what is happening now: your body, your mind, your family, your friends, an old lady you saw on the street, a little kid who needs help. Those are things you can have an impact on and don't fill you with anxiety, not to mention that while doing so you will feel much more fulfilled.

Thanks man, I think that's what I needed to hear. I normally don't pay attention to news, but with the election I've been paying attention a lot more due to the fact it'll be the first time I'm going to vote. And God, how does anybody do it? I guess I wasn't thinking about the companies behind the news source ironically.

I try to open doors for who ever I can and always say "bless you" when I hear someone sneeze, the last one isn't very common in the university I'm in, I like to think my little show of kindness makes the world just a little better, even if I'm not a religious man.

 

[Ashman]

Nah it's all ragebait. Anything further than a highway away is pointless.

 

[Math Equal Angelic Mantra]

ed, I don't want to be one those sheep not knowing what's happening in the outside world or what's happening in my country.

Following the news makes you more like sheep to be honest. It's like eagerly waiting for and listening to the barks of the sheep dog.

I'm actually planning on having a tough talk with a relative about their fixation on politics and the news cycle because its adding unnecessary stress to their lives on top of a bunch of personal things their going through, which the politics is also acting as a distraction from.

As for me, I just check any pinned stories on Zero Hedge to see of there was any sort of 9/11 or Pearl Harbor level event, and if there isn't go on with my day unless I'm bored or an article catches my eye.

 

[The Chibi One]

Skip them, they are all agitprop trying to move your mindset from a local context to a global one so you are in a constant state of stress by focusing on abstract people going through shit instead of helping those in your local community.

 

[fiveXdollars]

Don't watch the news if it makes you feel miserable, it's kinda like social media in the sense that you feel like you're never enough. I'm in a pretty good headspace and I'm not as stressed as I was about the future state of society. Don't forget that news will use clickbait headlines as that garners the most attention and try to keep a level-head with the fact that there is more kindness than you think there is; most of us are introverted and trying to get through the day.

With that said, I think its important to be involved in the news to some extent such as joining your community's Facebook group to see what's happening in the area and how you can impact it. Even volunteering at the local senior's home once a week can provide a sense of fulfillment and will make a greater difference than you'll ever know. I'm a religious person and I do feel like I'm making the world a better place, even outside the context of faith (eg. organizing community events on church property).

 

[Waninem]

95% of the time, I'd say no. Obviously you want to be informed if there's a major storm or hurricane headed towards you, so weather-related news is worth knowing. But most of it's stuff you can't control, or stuff that doesn't concern you, or stuff shoved at you by an algorithm to keep you on the site.

 

[RisingThumb]

How do you guys keep up with it? the constant thunderous tornado storm of doom and gloom? It's probably bad right now with election season. But I am curious to hear how you people deal with it?

99% of the time, if it's important, someone will tell you about it if you're well connected. In that sense, youtube, twitter, etc are garbage and I try to avoid learning news because most of the time it's not relevant to me, and it's in a far away country.

There's been a bunch of Palestine demonstrations in various UK cities, but imo, the energy is fairly misdirected as it wastes the average citizen's time and does nothing to any political folks. Another example is the Just Stop Oil dumbasses who go out of their way to waste a citizen's time, or to deface public cultural works instead of actually doing something that'd work and make the oil tycoons pause.

so weather-related news is worth knowing

Probably the only useful news for 99% of cases. Still, the UK is a place where you'll experience 3 seasons in one day, with rain, gloomy clouds and sunlight and blue skies all in the same day so it's still ineffective here. But hey, at least Englishmen aren't made of sugar... isn't that right? @Taleisin

 

[containercore]

I imagine there will be no such thing as "the news", at least in America ,which lacks a proper public service (PBS/NPR are largely donation based and end up with same problem as MSM, having to court a customer a base). All the social media companies got sick of newspapers investigating how much money they're making off stealing people's data so facebook, twitter, etc. effectively blacklisted off-site links to the news. You will find that the world's biggest newspapers get like 46 likes per post on twitter. This creates a vacuum where people get their news from LIBS OF TIKTOK and ANDY NGO instead. Euros are slightly protected against this bc of the aforementioned public service news, but for Americans its over. The gameplan has been in effect for a while, and everyone is gradually living in an individualized solipsistic filter bubble complete with its own version of the news, made by monetized content creators in that demographic niche.

 

[aurel]

The mainstream "news" that you describe is just thinly veiled viral propaganda.
You can follow the news for a particular place or topic that you are interested in. Even here, there's a "What's new" button on top.
Don't worry too much about missing MSM "news", they're completely manufactured.
Although, I do think that dropping them because they make you feel bad sets a bad precedent.

 

[Parzival]

I don't want to be one those sheep not knowing what's happening in the outside world or what's happening

It's been said here plenty already, but I want to make it clear that while this instinct isn't wrong, per say, it's been hijacked in the modern day to give many -plenty of those very sheep included- a crippling infornography addiction. I suggest just ignoring it all if you can't handle it and enjoy your life.

How do you guys keep up with it? the constant thunderous tornado storm of doom and gloom? It's probably bad right now with election season. But I am curious to hear how you people deal with it?

I grew up terminally online and am rather callous either as a result or by natural disposition, so I found it all rather interesting rather than personally upsetting most of the time. The few times it is upsetting I'm able to just place it in the back of my mind and go back to playing video games or watching anime. Simple as that, really.

 

[Legacy]

This has been an issue for as long as news has existed, as Thomas Jefferson said: "The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers"

A general idea of what's going on in the world is good, but if you're diving into reading the news every day you'll just be consuming weekly cycle propaganda slop that is nothing but noise with little information. You won't really get anything out of it. It's better to balance your consumption by spending some time reading books or consuming other content to expand your grasp of the world at large that isn't at the mercy of the news cycle. You may even start getting a lot more out of the news you do read as a result as you start understanding bigger pictures and some of the subtexts that can go on.

(all in my experience, anyway)

 

[MonkeyStream]

Mythological doom approaches. How much can we actually be aware of and what can anyone do with it? The news can't keep you informed of our Promethean abuse of energy and the capture of human agency by capital egregores, it's all in the language of advertising, dueling, and vibe management.

Life is so much better without commercials. That stuff is like MK ultra by convergent evolution of market adaptations.

 

[eris]

cool gibberish post, bruv

 

[Raiden]

There was a time in my life that I enjoyed watching the news and being informed. But I eventually got the same feeling as you, I guess. Ok, I know whats relevant in politics, economy, etc, so what? Most part of the things I watched or read on the news I couldn't have the minimal impact. So I started caring less and less.

I still read the news and try to stay informed, reading a news website at the end of the day. But it's pretty much to know what's happening instead of caring or having that feeling of "must keep informed to debate and change things".

And nowadays I'm more selective with the things I read, try to stay away from topics I know it will bring bad feelings to me.

 

[Captain]

It's all bullshit and you lead a happier life just ignoring the world and keeping your focus on your own small world and its problems. What's the point of knowing about Israel and its bullshit if there is nothing you can do about it. Just live your life and worry about things that impact you. The only news I keep up with is tech stuff, that's really all I care about.