Have you noticed that when you turn on the news, you usually hear about something dramatic that has happened? The anchor person gives you snippets of information, and right before they go to commercial they remind you why you’re watching the program to begin with.
But the hour goes by and they spend 30 seconds on that story, and you have been left unfulfilled. You feel tricked into watching segments you were not interested in, just to find out more about that one story. Yet, you haven’t learned anything.
Some of you may disagree with me, but for the past 5 years, I have stopped consuming news. I’ve noticed there was a huge shift in my thinking and energy once I did it.
It was hard at first because I believed that being well versed in current affairs helped me, but turns out it really didn’t.
Below are 5 reasons why I stopped consuming the news, and I’m much better for it.
1. Doom and Gloom (Negative News)
The news usually focuses on the negative and things that happen that really doesn’t concern us, but we’re interested because it’s drama. Sensational news. But how much of that affects our mindset?
How many of us really want to start our mornings off with how many murders happened during the night–while we slept? How many of us like to drink our coffee or tea to all the poverty and sadness in the world, then try to have a productive day?
I don’t, and I won’t.
2. Fear Sells
Stories run because they work on our fears. A plane crashed. A car fell off a bridge. They tell the story about the people in the car, or in the plane, but not the story behind it. They don’t talk about cut back in salaries (and number of jobs) or funded programs that would prevent these things from happening. They don’t talk about the fear of losing a job that would cause a person to work longer hours than they should in order to keep their job.
It’s easy to do this because most us are reactive instead of proactive.
But did you know it is harmful to our bodies to keep feeding our minds material that is fearful? Why put your body through a constant state of fear, when you cannot do anything about the stories you are hearing.
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3.Thinking Not Required
Most news stories that I used to watch and end up hearing about, required no thinking. Information is usually presented as “fact” and we are to just accept it. We didn’t have to absorb it, or question it. But how many times were people misquoted? How many times were things presented in a way that was just not true. These days, may of us do not question the news and what opinion they are trying to push on us.
4. Out of Our Control
Many of these stories that we hear about are out of our control. Can we stop things from happening 50 miles away from our home? Does it really matter which movie star is cheating on their spouse? How does this affect us?
It doesn’t.
Unless the news concerns me personally, or I’m personally invested in it, I’ll find out what’s going on (here and there) but I will not obsess about it. Trying to keep up every minute of the hour is not helpful, especially if it’s stopping us from getting things done.
5. Controlling Our Brain Food
If we are what we eat, then we are what we read, and think. What we feed our brains are so important because that decides how we think. One cannot consume and create at the same time. When you start your mornings with negativity, it is harder to get out of that mindset for the rest of the day.
I believe in order to be positive throughout our day, then we have to feed our minds with positive things. We have to store positive points to off set any of the negative one that comes our way. Starting our day with the news already puts us in the red.
[Tweet “One cannot consume and create at the same time.”]
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We are truly living in the information age, and we are now bombarded by information all the time. I choose not the consume the news anymore.
I am happier for it.
Now because I say I do not consume the news that does not mean I don’t know what’s going on in the world. I believe that you are capable of being well adverse in current affairs and not be swayed by sensational news. You can know what’s going on, but not through the snippets that television news would give you (and sometimes newspapers).
If I do look up something that has happened, I do it on my time, and only on the things that I’m interested in.
Other times, people around me talk about what’s going on. Of course I hear about current events around me. But I choose to not waste my time on things that are negative to me and that does not bring me any personal value.
Do you find yourself spending a lot of time reading the news? Has it been news that you can do something about?
Great post Kalley!
The new is so depressing to watch. I only half listen to it until they say something that interests me. I usually get most of my news from social media. That way, I can selectively choose what I want to read, positive or negative, without getting my panties all in a wad.
I know the media has a job to do, but a lot of times, I believe they oversensationalize and are biased. Really makes ya think, right?
I too find that I get a some of my news from Social Media as well! It’s a great way to be selective about what you decide to read or hear.
I worked in news for years. I stopped soon after 9/11. I HAD to know all of the goings on in the world. It was my job and it was at times, depressing. I left and started working in entertainment television. Far more superficial, but it felt good to be light for a change.
Yeah, 9/11 did change a lot for me too. I started to heavily get into the news right after it happened, but after a while, I noticed that they didn’t report anything new. It was the same stories being recycled over and over again. That became boring after a while. I like not having the choice to pick and choose the stories that I want to listen to. I still hear about the stories that I don’t want to hear about, but at least I’m not emotionally invested in it.
I am a news junky. I can leave my channel on CNN all day. But then, I’ve always been like that since high school. 🙂
CNN used to be my channel, but I had to give it up. After a while I noticed that I wasn’t getting fulfilled like I wanted to. They do a great job at reporting the news, but I have to admit, they are not the same as they used to be years ago.
I hear you and these are some really great reasons to leave the news alone. My husband and I were talking about how sad the news was, and we only watched the first 10 minutes and had to pray afterwards because the new was so intense that night, suicides, fires, shootings, missing plane, you name it. It was BAD. I am a politics junkie though, I can do that ALL day!
Yeah, I noticed that too! Like after the only show that I do watch (Scandal) right afterwards they jump right into the most sensational news that they can bring up. It’s always death, destruction, and fires that grabs our attention.
On good days, I can get into politics, but I find that I don’t follow it all the time. Now business news……that’s a different story.
Kalley great points you’ve made to which I agree. I still do look at the news even though not as mudch as before – too time consuming and if I may add, somewhat ‘addictive.’
I agree on the “too time consuming” point that you made. Also on the “addictive” part as well. I find that there are better things that I can do with my time, and stories that I don’t mind reading about vs. the stories that are headlining.
I grew up in a “news always on” household and despised it especially once I got to college and took a sociology course and learned who really ran the news. When traveling abroad I’ve always found it so interesting the perspective of non-US news. US news is SO celebrity driven that it’s sickening. I prefer now getting my news from NPR, PBS, BBC or by reading The Week. And your point is spot on: “I believe that you are capable of being well adverse in current affairs and not be swayed by sensational news.” Especially being outside of the traditional workforce first as a SAHM and now as a WAHM nothing annoys me more than my peers who are all, “I have no clue what’s going on – it’s just me and my little family.” I couldn’t stand to be so inwardly focused like that. I love raising a world-aware family!
Thank you Quiana! I agree about what our news channels focus on. I love reading about news that’s not US driven, because it gives a wider picture to what’s really going on in the world.
I watch the news every now and then. My mom had a saying around 6pm she would say let me see who has killed who today because it’s always something on the news that spell bad. I only watch once a week or so to catch up then that’s it.
Your Mom was spot on with her views about the news! And usually it’s always the “bad” areas that are featured too! SMH, it really lets you know what image is being reinforced to the network viewers.
I don’t read the news for very much exactly these same reasons! I have also known people who have really struggled with fear and anxiety and have found that choosing not to watch the news helps them. It’s true that so much of the news focuses on terrible situations that we can’t really have any impact on–which can definitely bring out feelings of anxiety and helplessness.
Excellent point Rachel! I know a few people who are dealing with depression and anxiety, and the news is just no good for them.
And the feeling of helplessness is very real. To me, I don’t find a true benefit in tuning in, but I see how much different my life (and other lives) is from tuning out.
I completely agree 100%. I don’t watch the news avidly and those are all reasons why. It’s all negative and meant to instill fear – the other half of the news is irrelevant Hollywood drama that need not concern me. I will scroll through the daily feed on my phone and see what’s going on but that’s about it. Anything else others around me will fill me in with so I’m good. 🙂 Great topic, all true! Have a great one Kalley! -Iva
I sometimes do the same thing, just to see if anything is going to pop up at me if / when I decide to scroll through my daily feed, but most of the time, I just shrug my shoulders and move on. 🙂 I don’t mind being informed when I read or hear about the news, but I’m really about the fear or Hollywood drama.
Thank you so much for stopping by Iva!
Great list! Those are also many of the reasons The Mister and I stopped having our television set hooked up to the outside world. Granted, I’m a mess when it comes to knowing what is going on with popular culture but it also means that I can’t participate in gossip about the latest flavor of the week celebrity misbehaving (I grew up around the entertainment industry…I don’t need to know who is doing what to whom to make it through my day…).
Now, if I can just give up my addiction to some mindless websites, I’ll be good to go!
Thanks again for a thoughtful list! #SITSSharefest
The mindless websites can be good sometimes-we all need downtime 🙂 I’m so not good with popular culture, I don’t pay attention to all the gossip that goes on.
I find that if I surround myself with things that are engaging, then I think more, & question more. This of course is not always good for my family. 😉