I think you misinterpreted MY post. But in the spirit of CC, i won’t try to explain again.
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No need. Only a political ideologue takes offense at the suggestion of civil discourse.
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I know I can definitely get overwhelmed. There are some topics I just can’t read: anything to do with child abuse, or torture of any living thing. I’ll be haunted forever. I also never watch videos. I hate them. Sometimes there’s a headline of something I’d like to read, but it’s a video. Oh well. I’ll move on. And I definitely don’t need to ever see a video of anyone’s death or the events leading up to it. Just no. Knowing what happened is enough for me.
If it gets to be too much, I just read headlines, a few important articles depending on the topic, and then articles on the more fluff-y type stuff.
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Same, can’t watch videos if they are more than 10 seconds. Would watch to see what was actually said in context. Never would watch anything violent ( and don’t want to read gruesome details even/esp. if true.
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For me, avoiding televised news coverage of anything - weather, politics, events - means that I get the headlines online and in print, and can choose - or not - to follow up without having to endure talking heads filling air (and often injecting their unwanted bias into the coverage).
And keeping those pre-bedtime hours clear of troubling content doesn’t hurt either, sort of a parallel to blue screens.
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It’s simple. Stop following the news so much. More importantly, stop WATCHING the news. So much of news broadcasts are commentary/opinion now anyway. Stop ‘following’ news organizations on your social media accounts. Read the news online every other day, not multiple times a day.
Your mental health will thank you.
Reporting on traditional media these days is more sensational, more opinionated because they have to compete for viewership with all those alternative media outlets that are even more (often much more) sensational and/or opinionated. Reporters or editors all have opinions and preferences, just like us, even if they try to be as objective as they can be. Journalistic standards are indeed slipping across the board, but some are still much better than others. Besides, if we can understand the background of the media outlets and their reporters/editors, we should be able to consciously offset the biases in their reports (in their selections of news, their choices of words, etc.) to a large extent.
We haven’t watched live broadcast news for many, many years. In fact, we watch nothing that contains commercials! (*). Same for radio. It’s either podcasts or change the channel when XM radio cuts to commercials.
There are a few online sites which truly represent a both sides balanced approach. My favs are RealClearPolitics and AllSides. A couple of Substack authors also are very balanced and more in line with old school news reporting and journalism. I have no time in my life to read any article where the splash line is structured in such a way that I know what I am supposed to think, feel or believe before even reading the first paragraph.
I want to know what is happening, and I want to form my own opinions. I also find MediaBiasFactCheck a helpful source.
*Greatest thing about being 99.5% commercial free is that I haven’t seen or heard a political add in at least three POTUS cycles.
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For what it is worth, MediaBiasFactCheck’s description of RealClearPolitics is “right-center” and “mostly factual”.
AllSides seems to do similar evaluations, but sometimes comes up with different results. For example, it lists RealClearPolitics in its “center” group.
It does make a distinction between news and opinions of traditional newspapers. For example, The Wall Street Journal news is listed as “center” and its opinions as “lean right”.
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I seek out opinions, analysis and commentary. Others’ perspectives are helpful to me in gaining my own perspective. I don’t have any trouble distinguishing straight news from opinion.
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That’s one of the things I like. The RealClearPolitics page will present two articles from two different sources on one main topic. One article will be left leaning, one will be right leaning. They tend to pair sources so that a subject is not addressed by a far right article and then by a left leaning article.
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I was so disgusted with the bias and negativity that I could barely watch or read the news. I found an outlet called the Dispatch, which helped keep me sane. While the writers have a definite opinion, they don’t try to pretend otherwise and they are brilliant, funny and positive. They are more critical of their own “side” than the other, and they are definitely a trusted news source for me.
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For some people, avoiding the news may be best. But if a person is genuinely interested in the news, they shouldn’t avoid it. There are ways to keep oneself from “spiraling into despair,” while satisfying the itch to be informed.
If a person is in despair, they are basically being owned by others. Bought and sold, probably many times. This will continue until they take control of the situation.
To take back control, become an expert. There is no such thing as “the expert”, so become “an expert.” No matter how good a source or writer may be, the whole story is not being told. They all have their biases, regardless of how well they claim to be guided by facts. Everyone will have bias, and that is ok.
Immerse oneself. Read the extremes. Research the history. Dig deep into why something is so upsetting. All of this helps. Learning is cathartic.
Don’t try to change minds, or base personal happiness on a political outcome. This is a recipe for misery, as it always has been.
Don’t align with groups. Be oneself, and proud of it.
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What has me feeling despair right now is the 10 day forecast after weeks of 100 degree temps. Next three days it is expected to be 109, and the 10 day includes no rain or temps below 100. Living in Texas with a grid on the brink of failure has me feeling very very down.
Going to spend a few days in Massachusetts soon with highs in mid 80s, which once would have disappointed me for a northern destination, but I’ll take it.
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We live in MA. It’s 97 here by the beach today . We just ran to the beach and dipped in since our AC isn’t up to par. We all went in for 3 quick dips. It’s usually 1. Water is cold ( seems colder because the air is so hot). Sand was so hot.
Has been lovely in MA this Summer other than today and one other day. Used A/C only once this year for sleeping. It can get really hot here (90) but rarely about that. And if you are on/near the coast it’s usually around 75-82. Nice and great for sleeping.
We never watch the weather news unless it’s a hurricane or gale. Weather changes frequently.
We will be near the coast, so that’s good to know. This will be a nice break during this horrible heat wave in Texas.
Thanks!
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Vote and/or be active in organizations for things/issues that concern you. It makes a difference and gives you the (very real) feeling that you are contributing to effectuating change for the things that really bother you.
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+1 on reading only and never clicking videos. It bugs me that kids are now communicating with each other through little Snapchat or other platform videos instead of text…attention span for reading and writing is still shrinking. I think people comfortable with long reads (articles, novels, etc.) will be able to create a media diet that is less anxiety-provoking because extraneous senses aren’t being stimulated while receiving the information.
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