Should we stop reading the news

I used to get most of my news from Twitter but I deleted it 3 weeks or so ago and I am really happy I did.

Got overloaded with info there the majority of which was completely false or irrelevant to my life.

The legendary Bill Hicks pondered this phenomenon some decades ago

You know my problem? I watch too much news. I don’t know if you ever, ever, ever sat and watched CNN longer than, say… …20 hours in one day. I’ve got to cut that out. If you ever watch CNN headline news for any length of time it’s the most depressing effing thing you will ever do; “War, famine, death, AIDS, homeless, recession, depression, war, famine death, AIDS…” Then you look out your window it’s just: [imitates the sound of crickets chirping] Where is all this stuff happening man? Ted Turner is making this stuff up! Jane Fonda won’t sleep with him, he runs to a typewriter: “By 1992 we will all die of AIDS – Read that on the air. I don’t get laid, nobody gets laid”

I disagree.

I think we all need to be aware (to an extent) of what is going on, even if not all of it directly impacts us. Not every rape, murder or assault trial is the same.

For example, the recent reporting on the horrific physical assault on a victim that resulted in a fully suspended sentence for the perpetrator, which was a complete injustice.

If it went unreported, "because assaults happen all the time" the situation would never change. If this case had gone unreported, the public outcry which followed wouldn't have happened. And maybe that outcry was not responsible for the DPP deciding to appeal the sentence, but it may have had a part to play in it.

Of course, everyone should only consume media to the extent that they can personally tolerate. It is possible to curate your own intake of all media, and sources.

That doesn't mean something should not be reported on because there have been similar cases in the past.

The comments section on news articles can sometimes act an enjoyable chaser of brevity or wanton insanity.

Of course the news is mostly about horrible things. People need to be informed about what is happening in their country. Does it mean that's all that's happening in the country? Of course not, but these things have an effect socially and nationally. Nobody should be sitting glued to the news for so long, and particularly in America where the "news" is more opinion pieces and entertainment designed to keep viewers watching and nodding along, but yes the news should report on what's happening even if it's horrible.

Otherwise our news reports may as well just be Anchorman

Depends :

A small item on the RTE news and in the papers two weeks ago about the Luas: the Luas is 20 years in operation. The person being interviewed said economists, journalists, and similar had predicted that the Luas would be an economic failure it would never get the passengers predicted, and so on.

I am sure the cost and construction generated acres of media comments and print media columnists giving out about the Luas project, yet it was a roaring success.

If you are a journalist commentator or economist be careful nailing your colors to the mast and the main point is the news is often completely wrong.

Feel like a schoolteacher who's not being paid to read an essay on the summer break.(I'm not)

There is a part of us that feels we need to hear bad news. Two reasons for this are given

It's important to know what we are facing as we leave home each day

We feel better about ourselves for living in a safe country or avoiding a terrible fate. There but for the grace of God..

ok. so no. You used Rwanda as your example of a news source which depressed you. Rawanda is a very depressing story overall. Why did you read the book?

I read a book about Rwanda too many years ago. In this version of events, the story focused on the religious phenomena which occurred simultaneously, as apparations of Our Lady and Jesus himself were reported. The book was written from a perspective of the faith of one of the survivors who, believes they were saved as a result of divine intervention. Our Lady of Kibeho is a thing now. The reason why I read it wasn't because I wasnted to be depressed but because I like autobiographies. I like when people have an interesting story to tell. (Our Lady of Kibeho~Immaculee Ilibagiza)

The Irish writers center has lots of writing courses available throughout the year which you might find interesting . (I didn't read all the way to the end yet, I need some coffee)

As an aside, it didn't do anything for my faith on the contrary, it left me feeling like thier God was a bit of an a hole.

The solution to consuming media which makes one miserable, isn’t to consume no media, but rather broaden their horizons beyond the media they consume. There’s as much news which gives people enjoyment as there is news which makes people miserable, and then there’s the people who make the news because they read something which made them miserable and inspired them to do something about it, resulting in an outcome which makes them feel better having taken on a challenge and achieving a positive outcome.

Much as I enjoy the idea of ‘ignorance is bliss’, it’s an idea which lends itself to navel gazing 😒

The absolute f**kwittery you read on comments sections of the likes of the Journal, twitter, boards and social media in general shows to me that it is a long long time since people in Ireland have been so ill-informed of the country we live in and the world around them.

I think everyone should read or hear at least the balanced headlines of Irish and world news delivered by a reputable news organisation every day. In fact, I know it's not realistic, but I genuinely believe that in order to have a vote you should be able to prove some kind of level of knowledge of the world around you and what you are voting for. Take for example the fact that Derek Blighe got over 25k first preference votes in the European election. Did 25k people actually decide, yes, I actually agree with the raving loon conspiracy theorist or were they just badly informed morons who bought into the anti-FF, FG & SF the-country-is-f**ked BS being spouted on social media and tick a box beside a name who wasn't mainstream without knowing remotely what he stood for. Obviously I don't know the answer to that but I believe it's the latter.

In general, yes.

I used to commute a lot for work - still do a bit of driving but nowhere near as much.

I was constantly listening to news radio. It occurred to me after a bit that the vast majority of 'news' was designed to cultivate clicks/texts or generally increase anxiety. I realized that my stress levels were being affected and I took the decision to stop.

I switched to podcasts instead - listening to subjects that actually interest me such as history, sport, music and movies.

I stopped watching any news programs or reading daily papers - I buy one Sunday paper a week and that does me perfectly.

The media's primary goal is not to inform you - it's to keep you tuned in and consuming their product. Having you in a constant state of anxiety is advantageous to them.

I'm definitely happier since I stopped consuming so much news.

Even before the now widespread distribution of "news" by social media a friend of mine had given up on many mainsteam media journalists, saying for him news was being given the facts upon which he was quite capable of making up his own mind rather than reading the often biased opinion of someone else.

He, God rest him is long gone now, but for me it`s a wisdom that just gets stronger with each passing day.

News is bad news and I think people are depressed because of it. There is an oversaturation.

20, 30 years ago news were still bad but in comparison they were mostly local news. Today it comes at us from all corners of the world and it's a permanent barrage of it. New deadly virus from permafrost in Siberia. Jungle hacked down in Papua-New-Guinea 300 more species extinct since last week. Another covid strain. Another river dead in India people pissin black. Gulf stream breaking down next week for sure. Civil war with atrocities in Kenia. Bomb in Gaza. Stray missile in the Ukraine. 13 year old rapes and kills 8 year old in Canada. 50 young students killed by militia gangsters in Mexico. And so on and so on. Never stops only becomes more and worse.

I mean how does anyone deal with that? I dont think human minds are designed for it. No wonder the young people are checking out or else have any number of disorders or both. I mean they dont even know of a time before all that, its all they know they grew up in that. Its mental.

Me personally I read my daily paper or two so I dont miss World War 3 and I know who's in government and thats mostly it. I have a small number of subjects I follow 'cos they're close to my heart but I have no twitter, insta, news websites, any of that sh1te. I never watch news channels, ever. I mooch around on boards a little, visit reddit but not current affairs and what I mostly engage with is sports. One needs to find a balance or else deep down you just want to top yourself every day.

Headlines only for me just to know what is happening then I turn the news off.