4 ms·

I recall reading and saving (in my Instapaper) a super relevant essay[0] written by a Swiss entrepreneur/author -- Rolf Dobelli -- that talks about how news sys

I recall reading and saving (in my Instapaper) a super relevant essay[0] written by a Swiss entrepreneur/author -- Rolf Dobelli -- that talks about how news systematically alters your 'risk-map' of the world, thus making you worry about things that'll almost never affect you while distracting you from things that actually might; as an example, the author talks about how terrorism is overrated and chronic stress is underrated, as portrayed in the media. He suggests going on a news diet by mindfully curating the news content one plans on consuming, and thinking about its relevance to everyday life. Personally, I can attest to experiencing increased clarity of thought, creativity and productivity once I blocked all of the junky news sites and the ilk out. This combined with practicing mindfulness has had a massive impact on my state of well-being and lowering of stress. My overall happiness has increased as a result. [0] http://www.dobelli.com/en/essays/news-diet/ http://www.dobelli.com/en/essays/news-diet/

nemild 8y ago
Here's my data analysis justifying Dobelli's thesis: How Media Fuels our Fear of Western Terrorism https://www.nemil.com/s/part2-terrorism.html https://www.nemil.com/s/part2-terrorism.html The deaths that are most covered are a tiny fraction (<1%) of the way we die https://www.nemil.com/s/part3-horror-films.html https://www.nemil.com/s/part3-horror-films.html There's also a fair bit of psychology research on how news coverage of vivid deaths increases PTSD, you can see one link in my first piece above. This coverage makes sense when you are focusing on newsworthiness and engagement — but is very flawed for good decision making.
asdkhadsj 8y ago
> He suggests going on a news diet by mindfully curating the news content one plans on consuming, and thinking about its relevance to everyday life I've actually wanted to do this for multiple things too. Ie, I want to spend ~15m a day getting a curated list on various topics that interest me. From tech, programming, etc. I don't want to feel I'm "missing" anything. My desire stems from not wanting to miss tech related events, and building habits of being on Reddit and HN. If I had a reliable aggregator I hope to reduce my FOMA style addiction. I imagine this would be useful for world news as well.
- stevenwoo 8y ago
  I built a tiny link web app for myself and it just shows me the last time I visited a website and how many times a day I visit it and this is enough to make me stop visiting some places too many times a day/week. Of course this depends on using the web app for visiting your most frequently visited sites.
  - reificator 8y ago
    If you've got the skills for that, you could probably convert it to a web extension that tracks when you type into the URL bar or follow a link as well.
    - stevenwoo 8y ago
      I've never done a web browser extension, but thank you for the idea.
      - IkmoIkmo 8y ago
        I'd love to use that! Keep us abreast in case you decide to work on this.
- dingaling 8y ago
  Don't overlook hyperlocal news; what's happening in your community. Even 'boring' things like reviewing planning applications have brought me closer to the other people in my town. It's very easy, particularly as dormitory commuters, to know more about what's happening elsewhere in the World than on our own doorsteps. I feel a lot happier that I don't know much what's happening in London, 400km away, but I'm making a difference 400m away.
  - jessaustin 8y ago
    Keeping an eye on local news helps prevent getting screwed, too. The highway passing a property is slated for safety improvements. One particular idiosyncrasy of the design was going to severely inconvenience us, our tenants, their customers, and our neighbors. We lobbied the highway department to change the design slightly, and they did change it. This is the same state highway department that has happily put dozens of local businesses under. A rare actual case of "Hanlon's Razor". If we hadn't paid attention we'd have had no recourse.
75dvtwin 8y ago
thank you for sharing. I have to do this. Have to go on a news diet. It seems like every time I read political news, I must get out of my keto diet, and consume some sugar. Then my energy goes down, and I cannot concentrate as well, and then my productivity and focus disappear. And my weight, starts climbing back up... Unfortunately, I guess, the posts on this forum are often quite political, and that makes it difficult to stay indifferent/to contain desire to argue back. I am finding, topics on lobste.rs are more technical, and without the catchy headlines. So it makes it much more consumable, and in line with my routines. I would also wish that the headlines stop being that 'screaming/misleading' as they are now.
lifeformed 8y ago
Are there any good sources of daily curated news? I'd like to read a condensed version of important news without all the emotional manipulation. I would pay money for that.
- abhiminator 8y ago
  I find The Economist's weekly brief super useful (the author talks about this as well). Aside from that I find Reuters' coverage pretty unbiased and objective, though I don't think 'curated' would be the right term to use in Reuters' case.
  - fredsir 8y ago
    > The Economist's weekly brief Where do I find this? Googling doesn't lead me to what I expect when I hear "weekly brief", so I suspect I'm looking at the wrong thing, which is http://economist.com/briefings http://economist.com/briefings.
    - abhiminator 8y ago
      Yes, the briefing is different from what I'm referring to. There are two separate sections, "Politics this week" [1] and "Business this week." [0] Just be aware that it's updated only once per week, and you may thus miss out on any fast moving stories. [0] https://www.economist.com/content/business-this-week https://www.economist.com/content/business-this-week [1] https://www.economist.com/content/politics-this-week https://www.economist.com/content/politics-this-week
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- dzuc 8y ago
  I quite like Quartz Daily Brief: https://qz.com/emails/daily-brief/ https://qz.com/emails/daily-brief/
- BeetleB 8y ago
  In my experience as a former news junkie, it is very unlikely a "good enough" source exists. Spend enough time following and understanding the news (in detail - hours per week), and then when you look at curated news, you'll see all the flaws in them. You'll see their bias in their curation. You'll read a piece from it and, because of your experience, will have many questions pop up in your head, which will tell you that the piece is missing crucial information. Etc.
untog 8y ago
I do feel as though that steps past questions of what a person should be concerned about as a member of a broader society. As a white person I'm not the victim of racism, but I don't think that means I should ignore news about racist incidents - it informs me of an experience I don't get.

nemild 8y ago

Here's my data analysis justifying Dobelli's thesis: How Media Fuels our Fear of Western Terrorism https://www.nemil.com/s/part2-terrorism.html https://www.nemil.com/s/part2-terrorism.html The deaths that are most covered are a tiny fraction (<1%) of the way we die https://www.nemil.com/s/part3-horror-films.html https://www.nemil.com/s/part3-horror-films.html There's also a fair bit of psychology research on how news coverage of vivid deaths increases PTSD, you can see one link in my first piece above. This coverage makes sense when you are focusing on newsworthiness and engagement — but is very flawed for good decision making.

asdkhadsj 8y ago

> He suggests going on a news diet by mindfully curating the news content one plans on consuming, and thinking about its relevance to everyday life I've actually wanted to do this for multiple things too. Ie, I want to spend ~15m a day getting a curated list on various topics that interest me. From tech, programming, etc. I don't want to feel I'm "missing" anything. My desire stems from not wanting to miss tech related events, and building habits of being on Reddit and HN. If I had a reliable aggregator I hope to reduce my FOMA style addiction. I imagine this would be useful for world news as well.

stevenwoo 8y ago
I built a tiny link web app for myself and it just shows me the last time I visited a website and how many times a day I visit it and this is enough to make me stop visiting some places too many times a day/week. Of course this depends on using the web app for visiting your most frequently visited sites.
- reificator 8y ago
  If you've got the skills for that, you could probably convert it to a web extension that tracks when you type into the URL bar or follow a link as well.
  - stevenwoo 8y ago
    I've never done a web browser extension, but thank you for the idea.
    - IkmoIkmo 8y ago
      I'd love to use that! Keep us abreast in case you decide to work on this.
dingaling 8y ago
Don't overlook hyperlocal news; what's happening in your community. Even 'boring' things like reviewing planning applications have brought me closer to the other people in my town. It's very easy, particularly as dormitory commuters, to know more about what's happening elsewhere in the World than on our own doorsteps. I feel a lot happier that I don't know much what's happening in London, 400km away, but I'm making a difference 400m away.
- jessaustin 8y ago
  Keeping an eye on local news helps prevent getting screwed, too. The highway passing a property is slated for safety improvements. One particular idiosyncrasy of the design was going to severely inconvenience us, our tenants, their customers, and our neighbors. We lobbied the highway department to change the design slightly, and they did change it. This is the same state highway department that has happily put dozens of local businesses under. A rare actual case of "Hanlon's Razor". If we hadn't paid attention we'd have had no recourse.

75dvtwin 8y ago

thank you for sharing. I have to do this. Have to go on a news diet. It seems like every time I read political news, I must get out of my keto diet, and consume some sugar. Then my energy goes down, and I cannot concentrate as well, and then my productivity and focus disappear. And my weight, starts climbing back up... Unfortunately, I guess, the posts on this forum are often quite political, and that makes it difficult to stay indifferent/to contain desire to argue back. I am finding, topics on lobste.rs are more technical, and without the catchy headlines. So it makes it much more consumable, and in line with my routines. I would also wish that the headlines stop being that 'screaming/misleading' as they are now.

lifeformed 8y ago

Are there any good sources of daily curated news? I'd like to read a condensed version of important news without all the emotional manipulation. I would pay money for that.

abhiminator 8y ago
I find The Economist's weekly brief super useful (the author talks about this as well). Aside from that I find Reuters' coverage pretty unbiased and objective, though I don't think 'curated' would be the right term to use in Reuters' case.
- fredsir 8y ago
  > The Economist's weekly brief Where do I find this? Googling doesn't lead me to what I expect when I hear "weekly brief", so I suspect I'm looking at the wrong thing, which is http://economist.com/briefings http://economist.com/briefings.
  - abhiminator 8y ago
    Yes, the briefing is different from what I'm referring to. There are two separate sections, "Politics this week" [1] and "Business this week." [0] Just be aware that it's updated only once per week, and you may thus miss out on any fast moving stories. [0] https://www.economist.com/content/business-this-week https://www.economist.com/content/business-this-week [1] https://www.economist.com/content/politics-this-week https://www.economist.com/content/politics-this-week
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
dzuc 8y ago
I quite like Quartz Daily Brief: https://qz.com/emails/daily-brief/ https://qz.com/emails/daily-brief/
BeetleB 8y ago
In my experience as a former news junkie, it is very unlikely a "good enough" source exists. Spend enough time following and understanding the news (in detail - hours per week), and then when you look at curated news, you'll see all the flaws in them. You'll see their bias in their curation. You'll read a piece from it and, because of your experience, will have many questions pop up in your head, which will tell you that the piece is missing crucial information. Etc.

untog 8y ago

I do feel as though that steps past questions of what a person should be concerned about as a member of a broader society. As a white person I'm not the victim of racism, but I don't think that means I should ignore news about racist incidents - it informs me of an experience I don't get.