I'm seeing more and more people taking a break from paying attention to the news. For some, the news is "too toxic and depressing". That's fine, and I understand their POV-but I can't do it personally. Being a news junkie is both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing, because you are informed and see what's going on in the world. It's a cruse, because you are informed and see what is going on in the world.
Like all hobbies, being a news junkie is hard to explain to people who don't share your passions. What's worse, by not understanding your passion they'll try to dismiss it-by acting superior to you or thinking they are somehow better because they don't have the interests. To be fair, people do this all the time and look down on interests they don't share. People who don't play video games look down on those who do, people who don't hunt look down on those who do, etc.
If you need to take a break from the news, fine. Go do so. But don't look down on those of us who need the constant information stream.
I think more people are taking a break not necessarily because they want to avoid the 'too toxic and too depressing' news, but rather because they are realizing that it is news is no longer news. When you her about a cop shooting, the blue lives matter group jumps up in the news about the danger to cops. However, the stats show that cop shootings are no worse than they have been in decades. What this shows that the bad stuff is being blown up out of proportion to make 'news' that people will watch. For example, the stats show that violent crime has dropped significantly since it's peak in the mid 1990's (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/30/5-facts-about-crime-in-the-u-s/) but you would thing that it has increased by watching the news. News now a days is not news, it's just people peddling the worst they can find in order to get ratings. I think that news is no longer unbiased or fair. We are guilty of this. When we see a car wreck on the side of the road, we have to watch!. Blood, guts and sex attracts viewers. People doing good is not nearly as news worthy. The world is not nearly as bad as we see in the news, but since all the stations try to peddle is the bad, our views are skewed. News today is just another violent movie. Gone are the days where news really tried to report all areas of life. It seems that the focus now a days is always on the most bloody, sensational aspects of society. When all you see is that when you turn on the TV, I can see why people would get tired of it.
ReplyDeleteThat is true. That's why the most exploitative news is always the first story. If it bleeds, it leads. That said, I do think we can find other options that aren't violent/exploitive/or sexual for our news.
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