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TL;DR: 1) You feel better 2) You were never actually accomplishing anything by watching the news 3) Most current-events-related conversations are just people

TL;DR: 1) You feel better 2) You were never actually accomplishing anything by watching the news 3) Most current-events-related conversations are just people talking out of their asses 4) There are much better ways to “be informed” 5) “Being concerned” makes us feel like we’re doing something when we’re not My own personal experience: I quit watching the news the day after the 2016 Election ended. I felt so ill the next day I couldn't even get out of Bed. So I googled stuff on "how to stop watching news" and came across this post by Buffer Co-founder Joel Gasgoine => http://joel.is/the-power-of-ignoring-mainstream-news/ http://joel.is/the-power-of-ignoring-mainstream-news/ It completely opened my eyes. Ever since I quit the news (everything incl. google news, reddit, huffpo 538, etc etc, except HN of course :) I've been feeling the following +ve effects 1) I am generally more happy and mindful, less stressed 2) I've finally made the most progress on my side-project that was languishing for years. 3) I am more mindful and get more things that are in my control, done. Related graphic => "Circle of Control vs Circle of Concern" http://www.jdroth.com/images/circle-concern-control.jpg http://www.jdroth.com/images/circle-concern-control.jpg 4) I smile more. I think this is because I finally realized that I can neither control, nor contain all the bad things that happen around the world, that we read about in the news. Don't let the new "wash over you". Take control of the things you need to get done, for you and your family and friends and career and retirement and life, and start hacking away at them using all the time you would previous waste on following and watching "the news"

copperx 10y ago
I would agree, but some news affect your life deeply. Personally, I'm reading news daily to answer the question "should I complete that Canada residency application today, or can I wait a few weeks?"
- themckman 10y ago
  You don't just sign up to be a resident in another country. You have to be invited. I know its fun to say "Screw this! I'm moving to Canada", but it doesn't work like that.
  - eli_gottlieb 10y ago
    Not to ruin my own chances, but New Zealand is apparently quite welcoming to a high-skilled professional. I mean, yes, you then have to live in a boringly peaceful country on the other side of the world from anything exciting. But right now, that means you're on the other side of the world from anything "exciting".
    - jurjenh 10y ago
      Except for things like volcanoes and earthquakes... Though grantedly that is a different kind of excitement. You're still subject to much the same kind of media merry-go-round, and subjectively is probably not even that far away.
      - scarygliders 10y ago
        > Except for things like volcanoes and earthquakes As someone who lived and worked in Japan for 6 years, lived not too far away from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant (Koriyama city), and went through the M9 quake in 2011 I can confirm this 100%. Life got rather wobbly. If you live in some location prone to natural disasters, inevitably you will become the news, or at least live in the news.
      - eli_gottlieb 10y ago
        > Except for things like volcanoes and earthquakes... Though grantedly that is a different kind of excitement. Call me silly, but that really is different to me. There's always some chance a natural disaster will wreck things up for you, but as long as society works together to respond to natural disasters, I feel fairly comfortable coping with that. Likewise, actually, to the terrorism problem in Israel. The kind of "excitement" I really don't want to live with is the breakdown of social trust: having to worry that my own neighbors or local institutions will turn on me.
    - GFischer 10y ago
      I looked very hard at moving to New Zealand. Auckland sounds AWESOME, but what really scared me is San Francisco-like property costs and a really, really high cost of living. Everything else was highly positive.

copperx 10y ago

I would agree, but some news affect your life deeply. Personally, I'm reading news daily to answer the question "should I complete that Canada residency application today, or can I wait a few weeks?"

themckman 10y ago
You don't just sign up to be a resident in another country. You have to be invited. I know its fun to say "Screw this! I'm moving to Canada", but it doesn't work like that.
- eli_gottlieb 10y ago
  Not to ruin my own chances, but New Zealand is apparently quite welcoming to a high-skilled professional. I mean, yes, you then have to live in a boringly peaceful country on the other side of the world from anything exciting. But right now, that means you're on the other side of the world from anything "exciting".
  - jurjenh 10y ago
    Except for things like volcanoes and earthquakes... Though grantedly that is a different kind of excitement. You're still subject to much the same kind of media merry-go-round, and subjectively is probably not even that far away.
    - scarygliders 10y ago
      > Except for things like volcanoes and earthquakes As someone who lived and worked in Japan for 6 years, lived not too far away from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant (Koriyama city), and went through the M9 quake in 2011 I can confirm this 100%. Life got rather wobbly. If you live in some location prone to natural disasters, inevitably you will become the news, or at least live in the news.
    - eli_gottlieb 10y ago
      > Except for things like volcanoes and earthquakes... Though grantedly that is a different kind of excitement. Call me silly, but that really is different to me. There's always some chance a natural disaster will wreck things up for you, but as long as society works together to respond to natural disasters, I feel fairly comfortable coping with that. Likewise, actually, to the terrorism problem in Israel. The kind of "excitement" I really don't want to live with is the breakdown of social trust: having to worry that my own neighbors or local institutions will turn on me.
  - GFischer 10y ago
    I looked very hard at moving to New Zealand. Auckland sounds AWESOME, but what really scared me is San Francisco-like property costs and a really, really high cost of living. Everything else was highly positive.