4 ms·

Delete mainstream news while you are at it. I cut out facebook and all news save HN and a couple of subreddits and a strictly local news site. My life has imp

by smegel 9y ago

Delete mainstream news while you are at it. I cut out facebook and all news save HN and a couple of subreddits and a strictly local news site. My life has improved.

camillomiller 9y ago
Wouldn't that be even a stricter bubble than what acebook serves you?
- smegel 9y ago
  I suppose that would be one way of looking at it. I prefer to see it as restricting information flow to that I am strictly interested in, or has a potential real-life impact on me (local news). It's a bubble of my choosing curated by me. And I would try and escape the bubble not by expanding my online exposure to dis/information, but by getting out into the real world and doing more stuff there.
  - TaylorAlexander 9y ago
    I hear what you're saying - it's about signal to noise. Reduce the noise and you become better informed, not worse. I stopped using Facebook and I don't follow mainstream news. I don't hear much about Trump or North Korea but I read my subreddits (I dropped /r/politics) and learn about Rojava in Syria, talk with my friends about the Diversity Memo and work hard to hear a detailed woman's view on the matter, or hit my YouTube subscriptions to find a lecture on physics or social issues. I still 100% have a bubble but I don't think adding Facebook or MSM back in to my life would in any way improve the fidelity of my view on the world. In my opinion MSM looks like garbage from any angle and Facebook just began to feel unhealthy (for me).
  - laumars 9y ago
    I'm not passing judgement on your personal ability to seek out counterarguments but more generally speaking this is exactly how echo chambers come about. People are generally only interested in news that confirms their pre-existing biases and will often cite the same arguments you make in defence of their echo chamber. I'm not saying I don't sympathise with your approach as a persons time is only finite. But if you are interested in fact or even just balanced opinion then you do need to be aware of the bubble you're creating and be willing to question what you read / hear on any issues of importance.
    - smegel 9y ago
      I don't think you understand. I am not cutting myself off from one side of mainstream news. I am cutting myself off completely. I have no idea what is happening with Trump or North Korea. I am vaguely aware there was a flood in Texas. The subreddits I subscribe to are special interest subs that have nothing to do with mainstream news or opinions, and are relevant and assist real world activities I do. I only read local news that could actually be relevant to me, like a new restaurant opening up in town, or special interest sites like HN that feed my professional interest in technology and programming. I have old been cold turkey for about 6 weeks, but I hope to get to the point where I have no knowledge of whatever "big stories" (or small) the MSM is occupied with. My basic philosophy is that the main/only thing important in life is achieving my personal goals, and the only stuff worth knowing about is things that can directly affect that outcome. I'm looking forward to walking in to work one day and see everyone's ashen face turn to surprise at my apparent indifference to some big "world event". Talk to me when life changes in my 50km real world bubble.
      - mrhappyunhappy 9y ago
        I'm in the same boat. Cut off news, FB years ago, all social media junk. No cable; very little YouTube and haven't been happier. Initially I did all of this because the negative news was getting tiresome and now I feel much better about the world I live in. Occasionally I'll read about NK and other politically charged issues here and on a few subreddits but it's very limited. I don't care that I'm oblivious to the word affairs, I just don't see the point of knowing what happened in Some far off place, especially if it's due to some jackass behavior from a delusional person or group of people.
      - mark_l_watson 9y ago
        Right on. I try to do the same thing, except about once a week I will briefly scan through Google news or the Apple News App on my iPad. Addiction to mainstream news does nothing to help me achieve my life goals. I have friends who (I think) satisfy the definition of addition, when it comes to watching hours of news a day. What a waste of precious time.
- DINKDINK 9y ago
  Potentially more limited, but less manipulatable.
  - amptorn 9y ago
    A bubble can be a really nasty small bubble regardless of whether it's being deliberately externally manipulated or not. HN is 1000% definitely a limited bubble.

by smegel 9y ago

Delete mainstream news while you are at it. I cut out facebook and all news save HN and a couple of subreddits and a strictly local news site. My life has improved.

camillomiller 9y ago

Wouldn't that be even a stricter bubble than what acebook serves you?

smegel 9y ago
I suppose that would be one way of looking at it. I prefer to see it as restricting information flow to that I am strictly interested in, or has a potential real-life impact on me (local news). It's a bubble of my choosing curated by me. And I would try and escape the bubble not by expanding my online exposure to dis/information, but by getting out into the real world and doing more stuff there.
- TaylorAlexander 9y ago
  I hear what you're saying - it's about signal to noise. Reduce the noise and you become better informed, not worse. I stopped using Facebook and I don't follow mainstream news. I don't hear much about Trump or North Korea but I read my subreddits (I dropped /r/politics) and learn about Rojava in Syria, talk with my friends about the Diversity Memo and work hard to hear a detailed woman's view on the matter, or hit my YouTube subscriptions to find a lecture on physics or social issues. I still 100% have a bubble but I don't think adding Facebook or MSM back in to my life would in any way improve the fidelity of my view on the world. In my opinion MSM looks like garbage from any angle and Facebook just began to feel unhealthy (for me).
- laumars 9y ago
  I'm not passing judgement on your personal ability to seek out counterarguments but more generally speaking this is exactly how echo chambers come about. People are generally only interested in news that confirms their pre-existing biases and will often cite the same arguments you make in defence of their echo chamber. I'm not saying I don't sympathise with your approach as a persons time is only finite. But if you are interested in fact or even just balanced opinion then you do need to be aware of the bubble you're creating and be willing to question what you read / hear on any issues of importance.
  - smegel 9y ago
    I don't think you understand. I am not cutting myself off from one side of mainstream news. I am cutting myself off completely. I have no idea what is happening with Trump or North Korea. I am vaguely aware there was a flood in Texas. The subreddits I subscribe to are special interest subs that have nothing to do with mainstream news or opinions, and are relevant and assist real world activities I do. I only read local news that could actually be relevant to me, like a new restaurant opening up in town, or special interest sites like HN that feed my professional interest in technology and programming. I have old been cold turkey for about 6 weeks, but I hope to get to the point where I have no knowledge of whatever "big stories" (or small) the MSM is occupied with. My basic philosophy is that the main/only thing important in life is achieving my personal goals, and the only stuff worth knowing about is things that can directly affect that outcome. I'm looking forward to walking in to work one day and see everyone's ashen face turn to surprise at my apparent indifference to some big "world event". Talk to me when life changes in my 50km real world bubble.
    - mrhappyunhappy 9y ago
      I'm in the same boat. Cut off news, FB years ago, all social media junk. No cable; very little YouTube and haven't been happier. Initially I did all of this because the negative news was getting tiresome and now I feel much better about the world I live in. Occasionally I'll read about NK and other politically charged issues here and on a few subreddits but it's very limited. I don't care that I'm oblivious to the word affairs, I just don't see the point of knowing what happened in Some far off place, especially if it's due to some jackass behavior from a delusional person or group of people.
    - mark_l_watson 9y ago
      Right on. I try to do the same thing, except about once a week I will briefly scan through Google news or the Apple News App on my iPad. Addiction to mainstream news does nothing to help me achieve my life goals. I have friends who (I think) satisfy the definition of addition, when it comes to watching hours of news a day. What a waste of precious time.
DINKDINK 9y ago
Potentially more limited, but less manipulatable.
- amptorn 9y ago
  A bubble can be a really nasty small bubble regardless of whether it's being deliberately externally manipulated or not. HN is 1000% definitely a limited bubble.