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News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier

stress

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#1 jack black

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Posted 04 October 2017 - 08:51 PM


https://www.theguard...ad-rolf-dobelli

 

i agree 100%. News add stress to the daily life. i should stop googling for news, and limit myself to once a day dose of evening news.


Edited by jack black, 04 October 2017 - 08:51 PM.

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#2 Heisok

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Posted 04 October 2017 - 10:16 PM

I also agree to the general comment. I stopped almost completely watching the news 2 1/2 years ago. I will occasionally watch a short amount when very important events first happen. Maybe 10 minutes in order to know what is happening. Hurricanes, Mexico earthquakes,  Vegas, major controversial elections like the Brexit  and the English Prime Minister vote. I would guess about a total of 10 or 15 minutes a week. I do not go to news type start pages. Instead, I use my bookmarks. I believe that it has helped my stress level. After being around for many years, I know that there are problems, natural disasters, terrorism, evil happenings and serious criminals. I do not have to be constantly reminded. I actually watch less than an hour of television a week. I will watch 1 or 2 recorded comedies where we can forward through the commercials and other interruptions.

 

This part might be a little unusual, but I also stopped reading books which are highly activating through graphic descriptions of violence,  apocalyptic, dystopian type Sci Fi or other genres. Along with other "sleep hygiene" methods, It has helped me with getting to sleep at consistent times.

 

Some these days are recommending taking breaks from digital devices with constant reminders. I would highly recommend that everyone should consider a written, broadcasted or internet news break. Might grow to like it.


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#3 jack black

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Posted 11 October 2017 - 02:52 PM

 I actually watch less than an hour of television a week. I will watch 1 or 2 recorded comedies where we can forward through the commercials and other interruptions.

 

Good point about limiting TV, too. I noticed a long time ago that watching TV made me lazy and dumb (except for watching something highly educational or in foreign language to learn new language). There was even a study in japan where kids watching more (including "education") programs had measurable brain development deficits.

 

I got rid of cable in mid 2000's and haven't watched live TV for several years now. Tivo is great to fast forward commercials and chose quality stuff. But, I need to limit it even more, because any TV in the evening distracts me from doing important stuff, makes me crave junk food, and delays sleep.


Edited by jack black, 11 October 2017 - 02:53 PM.

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#4 YoungSchizo

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Posted 11 October 2017 - 06:15 PM

I also agree 100% I stopped watching news 2 years ago! At one point I realized too many times that it eventually stresses me, drains my energy and adds up to depressive feelings. What a relieve once I stopped following it completely! I also only watch the most important events and am only following late night talkshows that brings the important news with comedy!

 

I don't use it, but nowadays you have apps where you specifically can select only the topics what still has your interest. 


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#5 eon

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Posted 24 October 2017 - 08:14 PM

Missing out was said to be a good cure for unhappiness. I guess missing out on news applies here as well. Then again almost every time I open yahoo or google, a news story catches my eye. Then I become sad!


Edited by eon, 24 October 2017 - 08:17 PM.

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#6 Ben

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Posted 06 November 2017 - 07:18 AM

Too true all legacy media should be cut out.  Facebook totally too. Twitter sometimes for industry specific tweets. Only industry specific reddit.


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#7 sthira

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Posted 06 November 2017 - 02:17 PM

If it bleeds it leads, as they say, so I mostly ignore pop media and rely on only a few mainstream sources: NYT, Washington Post, NPR/PBS, The New Yorker, The Economist, The Atlantic, and Mother Jones, High Times for my hippie spin.

But by skimming the pop international press, you'd never know that humankind is living in the best of times in recorded history. We've made huge leaps forward in turning the uncontrollable forces of nature -- famine, plague, war -- into manageable challenges, as Yuval Harari writes. "Today more people die from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old age than infectious diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers, terrorists, and criminals combined."

While I'm deeply concerned about ecological climate change issues, these are solvable problems for us. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying Harari's "Homo Deus." It's a light, bright, optimistic read that might make you keep up your faith and interest in this healthy lifespan extension movement we're all a part of.
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#8 YOLF

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Posted 06 November 2017 - 04:00 PM

I think TV new is the same 10 minutes repeated for a week, so daily isn't really necessary. Maybe weekly... then there's reading it from the historical perspective. 10 minutes on wikipedia will ultimately be more informational and is not presented in any kind of emotional "don't turn us off or you won't know what's happening" way. I think for people who watch, it's the constant watching and waiting for tiny insignificant pieces of information that causes the stress. It's bad time management.


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#9 jack black

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Posted 08 November 2017 - 04:12 PM

I'm thinking some people are more sensitive to this than others. I wrote more about it in a separate thread: http://www.longecity...sonality-trait/



#10 Dichotohmy

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Posted 08 November 2017 - 10:06 PM

The so-called news is much more devious than just worsening the mental health of viewers. Beyond almost all news amounting to entertainment as opposed to honest reporting of what happened, with the lights and sirens of breaking updates appealng to the innate human curiosity with the novel and to indeed see what happens next, the news seems to function as a weapon of mass distraction based on what it does and does not hype up. Manufactured controversies, like NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem, or President Trump latest offensive remarks, are incredibly irrelevant compared to real unresolved problems like a broken healthcare system, growing wealth inequality and wage stagnation, or the incredible degree of government deficit spending just to name a few; yet the manufactured controversies are what get hyped up because they are always based on simple issues that can be dumbed down to talking points and partisan narratives, which anyone can understand and pick a side to root for. The problems that matter are too complex to break down to the lowest denominator of viewer, so have comparably less entertainment value. The problem with this is that mainstream news distracts capable people from caring about problems that really affect them, and in all too many cases, foster identity politics that cause people to fight against, or at least harbor ill feelings towards others, that if united, could affect real change and make the world a better place.

In essence, the news profits off of our simple hunan instincts and indeed pits people against one another in such a way, that you really have to wonder if the way the news is orchestrated is a conspiracy to keep the public too distracted and emotionally invested in non-sense to unite and work towards real change that is in the best interest of these very people. Because of this, tuning out from the news will not just improve your mental health, seeing through the charade will improve humanity one individual at a time.

Edited by Dichotohmy, 08 November 2017 - 10:08 PM.

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#11 YOLF

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Posted 09 November 2017 - 01:02 AM

The so-called news is much more devious than just worsening the mental health of viewers. Beyond almost all news amounting to entertainment as opposed to honest reporting of what happened, with the lights and sirens of breaking updates appealng to the innate human curiosity with the novel and to indeed see what happens next, the news seems to function as a weapon of mass distraction based on what it does and does not hype up. Manufactured controversies, like NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem, or President Trump latest offensive remarks, are incredibly irrelevant compared to real unresolved problems like a broken healthcare system, growing wealth inequality and wage stagnation, or the incredible degree of government deficit spending just to name a few; yet the manufactured controversies are what get hyped up because they are always based on simple issues that can be dumbed down to talking points and partisan narratives, which anyone can understand and pick a side to root for. The problems that matter are too complex to break down to the lowest denominator of viewer, so have comparably less entertainment value. The problem with this is that mainstream news distracts capable people from caring about problems that really affect them, and in all too many cases, foster identity politics that cause people to fight against, or at least harbor ill feelings towards others, that if united, could affect real change and make the world a better place.

In essence, the news profits off of our simple hunan instincts and indeed pits people against one another in such a way, that you really have to wonder if the way the news is orchestrated is a conspiracy to keep the public too distracted and emotionally invested in non-sense to unite and work towards real change that is in the best interest of these very people. Because of this, tuning out from the news will not just improve your mental health, seeing through the charade will improve humanity one individual at a time.

Right, if they want us to watch the news longer, they are going to have to give us more detailed stories and more important information, lessons in finance and economics, so they can build on it and get votes from a more educated public. Then they can relax us into watching the commercials while the public grows their education.



#12 maxwatt

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Posted 09 November 2017 - 04:17 AM

There is a difference between being informed, and being immersed. 

No news is good news.



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#13 hydrus

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Posted 09 November 2017 - 10:29 AM

TV can be enjoyable but it can also easily make you apathic, depressed, addicted, dumb and lazy.







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