It’s natural to shrink from trauma. So, when the news itself is trauma on repeat, we recoil.
I understand. I took a two-week break from the news late last year. But I rousted myself from my blackout. To survive the news today, I:
Consume news on my terms. Once daily is usually enough.
Ignore the false urgency of smartphone news alerts. I turn them off. All of ’em.
Ignore reports about crazy people saying crazy stuff. Instead, I read or view reports on actual events and actions. Explanations of complex information. And watchdog journalism disclosing misdeeds and secrets.
Avoid punditry: most newspaper columns, talk radio, nearly everything on cable TV “news” programs. They sound like know-it-alls. They aren’t.
Especially avoid content that apes the tone and form of news but instead promotes partisanship and vilifies opponents.
Leave my comfortable news silo to consume from fair-minded outlets that challenge my assumptions.
And I remember this: social media memes and video shorts repurposed from elsewhere are not news. They’re weapons used by co-conspirators in the Keep-You-Always-Angry Digital Engagement Complex.
Please stay informed.
Amen and pass the peanut M&Ms.
Peanut M&M’s will brighten almost any day.