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Boycott the news, for a better you.

Jamshyd said:

The idea is not to watch the news and change the world. The idea is to bear witness and to be informed, and also to accept that you simply aren't significant enough to fix all the world's problems.
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then what good does bearing witness and being informed do? there's lots of information out there that i can't really do anything with, why is the news so special?
 
^ my point exactly...why choose THIS information over THAT information. I've studied information theory at a pretty high level and its generally agreed that there is a wealth of information available in the physical environment. Surely the total amount dwarves the amount found in the news. SO why is the news special?

What about my great horned owl?

Double-Ewe, your posts all over are on fire today man haha. Did you take a double shot of espresso or maybe you had a really really sick workout???:D
 
Changed said:
'content'?
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I'm getting the impression that being "content" to you and others here means plugging your ears and pointing out your tongue. If that's the case, then yes, it is most definitely outweighed by being informed.

If you find that the news causes you to feel too depressed, then my opinion is that you're expecting way too much of yourself. I should be free to express this here without insulting anyone since I do believe it is healthIER to be able to follow news WITHOUT feeling depressed about it.

But it appears I have stepped on too many toes (eg. matsuo). I suppose I am lucky in that I can follow the news mostly with a sense of detachment.

And its not like I sit for 24/hours clicking refresh on news sites. I do very much what mariposa does: skim through headlines, and read something only if I feel it significant enough - and when I do, I actually research it from multiple outlets. I never, ever sit in front of the teevee and gape at what looks almost like Hollywood.
 
youre lucky man. it makes me depressed as fuck to see people blown to bits and hear about my country carpetbombing a new country. it seems like every other day at least my country's military assasinates somebody or bombs somebody or replaces a leader with a new puppet in some country they have no business being in.

you didnt step on my toes (and if you did it would mean we were dancing and stepping on my toes would be so little to worry about given that we were dancing:D). I like your thoughts.
 
^ Well I'm glad I didn't offend.

To answer your question: the 15mins or so it took me to skim through today's headlines did not distract me from admiring the beauty of an infinitely-coloured fiery ribbon of sunshine piecing between two layers of black clouds this morning. And I was totally sober, too :). Had I found a Great Horned Owl, you bet your ass I'd interrupt the news to go witness it. These things are not mutually-exclusive :).
 
Jamshyd, you're a stubborn girl aren't you?

People are simply saying how boycotting the news has helped improve their lives! Why does this 'annoy you'?
 
dont have a TV or get the newspaper or have internet at home

i'm pretty much cut off from any current affairs hah

and yeh it is better than being in touch
 
Jamshyd said:

If you find that the news causes you to feel too depressed, then my opinion is that you're expecting way too much of yourself. I should be free to express this here without insulting anyone since I do believe it is healthIER to be able to follow news WITHOUT feeling depressed about it.
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I think you are right in saying some people feel guilty and have to do something about a news item, when in reality the majority of the time they can not, and some do still let this get to them.

When I was pregnant my emotions were so over the place my husband had to cut up my credit card as I was phoning up some of these items that were on the news and donating money to them, one of the worst that had me crying for hours was a 3 legged horse who had been abused and half starved by it's owner.
I am glad I do not feel that way normally but I do still go through the news to see what is relevant to me and use it when I can. A scientific break through, food prices etc. But you are right though you should be able to go through it with a sense of detachment.
 
When I was doing my internship years ago, we would examine old newspapers to identify local species. The papers would be some portions about national news, and then a bulk of things like "50 bats found behind store sign on Flores Street" or little invitations to community gatherings.

These days, I hardly read the headlines, but I sometimes pick up a newspaper when it is around. I prefer, incidentally, the most dry local newspaper, because it contains a lot of small-town information from all over (e.g. agricultural and entrepreneurial news). I stay away from political sensationalist garbage, which is like showbiz gossip, only involving unattractive people in suits.

There is a lot of bad news in my country, but there is also a lot of good news, some very small news. Take what is relevant to you, read what you can while you're on the crapper. The problems arise when people begin accustomed to consuming news that is negative, remote, and that they can do nothing about.

Even in terms of news, we have become consumers to a high level, without producing any creative response-- even local versions of the news. Many people do not even try to determine which news is important to them, if it's on, it must be! Does it really have any effect on you? How much of your thinking and energy should it take up? If you are politically active, create exercises that localize effects of relevant policy.
 
I'm amazed to see that so many people have tried and learned what I have. About the time of the O.J. Simpson trial, I was all over CNN (I'm Canadian btw) and watched almost the whole damn trial....and then not long after when I got married and my first child was on the way, I noticed that I was bothered by alot of what I was seeing and reading...so I did the boycott and presto! I became a new man and am now known as calm, easy going, confident, super-nice guy....and modest too of course lol. But seriously, I did find that it worked for me and I've not turned back in almost ten years now! My advice: Take care of your little corner of the world and if enough other people do the same, we'll survive!
 
I lowered my consumption of the news drastically the last few months. What I've also noticed is that I used to reflect some problems and issues I had in my own life on the news; I would get really pissed about all the wrong shit that's going on and that allowed me to not look at myself. I'm not saying everybody does this but I think a lot do! This same phenomenon is also the cause of lots of bigotry.

I think it's really scary to see that because of the news some people can just dissociate from the fact that, for example, Muslims are also people. All they see are the extremes; the extremists with their burning flags bombing sanctuaries. The News will have us believe that acts of terror are motivated only by the unstoppable drive to kill infidels.

So, ehhh. I still watch the News sometimes, I just don't let it rile me up like it used to. I learn from my own experience. And make my own life. I have accepted I cannot change the world, I can just do my part. It sounds so elementary but it's so true.

I don't think I'd ever consider watching no news at all. Not watching US network news wouldn't be a problem though. Believe it or not, there is still ethical journalism in this world.
 
another conflict i feel with much of the news is being weary as to the underlying agenda. which party is paying for that spot to boost consensus on their policies and which business are sponsoring certain situation to boost sales, etc. much of the time i can literally feel my brain being in the wash.
 
Jamshyd said:
The idea is not to watch the news and change the world. The idea is to bear witness and to be informed, and also to accept that you simply aren't significant enough to fix all the world's problems. This thread is seriously annoying me, I'm sorry.
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No one can really say what the idea of the news actually is, as it varies from person to person. Just like anything, people create and consume for many different reasons.

However, the evolution-- composition and scope-- of news over time, has been one that has more and more predisposed people to being in a position where they cannot do anything. There is no opening, so to speak. Likewise, the format in which many consume news is not conducive to deep discussion that allows people to go beyond sensationalist stuff. TV, for instance, is very good for exhibiting bold images, but not very good for sustaining the kind of information exchange that creates significant understanding. For most people, it's not a very good return on your investment of time and energy.
 
Most, including myself in my anxiety self help group just cannot cope with the news,, its pure fuckin garbage that has very little to do with you and desensitises you to your local community and feelings in general,, trust me,, fuck the news,, its absolutely soul destroying, and its only what some corporation chooses to report in whatever style they want -mostly bad news that induces fear in people
 
Well I'm still going to insist on at least one point: that Watched news and Read news are so different that they cannot be lumped into one category.

Watched news is a PASSIVE process.

Read news is an ACTIVE process.

(Radio news is in between, and very dependent on how long the range of reception is - normal radios are as useless as TV's, but more sophisticated ones can pick up international channels and thus give far more freedom of choice.)

Everyone in this thread who is anti-news is thinking of watched news. In that case I actually agree with you!! TV is NOT the proper vehicle for news delivery! TV in general is very unhealthy, and I will never subscribe to a cable service in my life.

But if you are to read the news, you actually have the ability to pick what you want to learn without getting inundated with all kinds of useless crap as happens with teevee. You are allowed to stop and think critically, and compare different sources.

Each medium is so drastically different that I am incapable of understanding how people lump both media under "news".
 
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