No News Is Good News?

Thanks to the Internet I can – if I really wanted too – read or hear the latest news from Melbourne, Australia. I can also connect up to a Chinese news agency or even to the South Pole research station and see what they are saying about the world (their part of it at least!). I can have access to every possible political flavour of news and opinion that range across a wide spectrum from conspiracy theories to expert’s thoughts. In short, thanks to the power of the World Wide Web and television I can have a whole planet worth of news and comment at my finger tips twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.

Never before in all of human history have individuals had such open and free access to so much information. While the exchange of information and views is a good thing, helping to break down artificial borders and transcending political ideology for example, can there be a down side to the constant barrage of daily news? For myself - and I suspect many others - the answer must be a yes.

Allow me to explain why. At one time I avidly scanned a bookmarked set of websites for the most up-to-date headlines and comment. I often found myself reading the same piece of news numerous times on different sites trying to obtain differing views. While watching television I would flip over to one of the twenty four hour news channels during the advert breaks from just to see if I had missed the latest breaking news. I would spend hours over the course of the week attempting to keep current with all the latest goings on.

It became too much. I realised that the news industry thrives on bad news. Events such as political upheavals, major crimes, natural or human disasters and personal tragedies are all devoured by the media where they are chewed over, digested and then spat out again to feed the masses their daily dose of news. This constant and incessant daily parade of bad news stories used to run me through a kaleidoscope of negative emotions. Anger, hopelessness and frustration to name just a few, would swirl around inside my mind poisoning my view of the world. I started to find that the smallest thing could trigger off depression that would last for the rest of the day or longer. I would lie awake at night going over what I had seen or heard. Something had to change.

The answer was simple. I just went cold turkey. For about a week I deliberately avoided any news on the TV or Internet and guess what? I didn’t miss it one bit. My mind calmed down. I could focus on things that really mattered to my life and the lives of those around me. I began to live more in the Now than in the past or future (which is the basis of mindfulness by the way – subject of another post coming soon). I had undergone something of an epiphany.

I now scan the news briefly each day and if I come across something that looks interesting I ask myself a single question; “Does reading this bear any relevance to, or have any effect on, my day-to-day life?" This simple, quick act of self analysis acts as an effective filter for me, saving a load of angst and wasted time.

I was surprised to find out a little later that what I had gone through was quite a commonly recognised problem. Apparently there is such a thing as ‘News Addiction’. Just Google it if you feel that you too suffer from too much news watching. You may also find hints on how to help yourself wean off the teat of the news beast.

I would be interested to find out what others think about the news and media in general. Have your say in the comments below and let’s start a conversation.

Thank you for reading and until next time keep safe and well.