Even though news is no not nearly so soul crushing like it was while Trump was in office, I still find myself burned out on all of it. I’ve often advocated that a democracy depends on a well-informed electorate, so I’ve felt that its almost akin to a patriotic duty to follow the news.
But increasingly, I’m trying to step away from news that is likely not to impact me or the nation / world. That might sound self-centered, but by way of example I’m talking about stories of some Woman who drowns herself and her kids in Texas.
Maybe there is an underpinning in the story about depression, drugs or abuse that is relevant outside of her community. But reading such tragedies takes something of a mental toll.
And then there are the endless celebrity fluff pieces or the speculative news articles of something that might happen e.g. Apple might buy Disney based on Rumors.
Still, I tune into big global news like Russia’s war on Ukraine. And I enjoy positive happenings like the Artemis program.
But with our phones in hand, it’s so easy to occupy an idyll minute while on hold with a support desk or waiting for a friend to meet. It becomes a twitch.
I have those bored moments and am likely not going to step away from using my phone to kill time when there is nothing else to do, but increasingly asking myself when I read a headline, “How will this help me?” “What will I get out of this?” The answer is usually, “It won’t” or “Nothing much”. When you start looking at news this way, then one observes that 98% of it is passable noise.
I think I need to start carrying a good old fashioned paperback book with me everywhere.
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