4 ms·

I get a positive JOMO feeling when someone shares a media scare story and expects me to join them in pearl-clutching. I only loosely follow mainstream infotain

I get a positive JOMO feeling when someone shares a media scare story and expects me to join them in pearl-clutching. I only loosely follow mainstream infotainment/moral panics, and mostly for entertainment value. So I totally enjoy missing out on the “let’s all be scared together” vibe. NB: This sharing would be f2f, since I have yet another JOMO: not being on FB/insta/etc.

Bootwizard 7y ago
I feel exactly the same way. I stopped using social media and reading the news a few months ago and I've never been happier in my adult life. It's shocking how much regular reading of negative news can impact your emotional health. I even considered myself on the verge of depression at one point. As soon as I stopped reading the news daily and completely cut myself off of social media, my mood and emotional wellbeing began improving. There's nothing you're missing out on by doing this, only the spread of fearmongering by the media. The world is not ending tomorrow, and experiencing your own life is more important than vicariously experiencing all the negative things in the world through the internet.
- wool_gather 7y ago
  Have you considered re-adding a measured amount of news -- at least local -- to your week? You're absolutely right that a lot of the so-called "news" is garbage and just a source of negative emotional energy. Especially the flotsam drifting across social media... On the other hand, there are things happening in the world, decisions being made and actions taken, that almost certainly affect stuff you value. This is especially true in your town/county/sub-national political region -- which is why I said "local". It's still not exactly fun a lot of the time, but knowing -- and being able to influence! -- what's going on around you ultimately has more upside than down.
  - kraetzin 7y ago
    I concur. It's important to be engaged with what's going on locally and things that will directly impact you and people around you. If everybody ignored these things and just kept their heads down then I'd argue we'd all be worse off. Your own mental state could be improved by ignoring them, but I do believe that we all have some responsibility to try and improve the society around us. I've found that keeping exposure to media down to every week or two and mostly reading summaries of events after the fact has helped immensely. It filters out all of the noise you get from live reporting. This helps get down to the facts of what's happened, and allows one to keep a certain emotional detachment from the events and focus on the important things.
  - Bootwizard 7y ago
    Well my local news organizations are particularly bad as well, so not really.
  - momokoko 7y ago
    But are they? It's important to vote, but realistically what are you accomplishing for yourself or anyone else by keeping up on things everyday. Let's even use Brexit as an example. For the average everyday person in England, brexit is a huge deal. But what benefit is there to the general population to keep up with every twist and turn of political maneuvering? In the end it's important to vote smart. Voting smart can br done via checking up on current events once a week if not once month. Things really do not move as fast as online news and social media will lead you to believe. Brexit is taking years to happen. But if you keep up with the news you might think everyday is the brink of doom or salvation. When in fact the average person has months or possibly years between actionable events.
    - wool_gather 7y ago
      It looks like you've hit 'reply' on the wrong comment? I didn't say anything about everyday, or "keeping up with every twist and turn" of the national news.
- foolinaround 7y ago
  there is a real need for a site that provides just the bare details of the news without need to editorialize, etc. I should be able to filter content; If I need to get more details, I can always google for that.
  - Rumperuu 7y ago
    Try following a news agency—I like Reuters. They gather news reports and then sell them on to newspapers/broadcasters/etc. who add their spin and choose which details to focus on or ignore, so it's a bit like buying your food fresh from the farm.
Aloha 7y ago
I thought I was the only one who experienced this - I always have this mild feeling of bewilderment at people who are upset/angry/worried at everyone, and I'm always glad I dont feel the need to do the same.
newnewpdro 7y ago
Same here, then some family members started acquiring guns because of the fear and paranoia. To the extent that they brag about getting training so their response to a home invasion will be "muscle memory". It stopped being funny, and now I no longer visit some of those relatives for fear of being mistaken as an intruder and shot when stumbling into their home drunk after a night on the town during an extended visit as a house guest. In the past I would go across the country and stay with some of these relatives for a month or more in a spare room. Now it just doesn't seem safe with them keeping a handgun under their pillows.
- cgag 7y ago
  This seems a bit of pearl clutchery itself.
  - astura 7y ago
    It's really not... It's legitimate fear... https://fox59.com/2019/07/14/police-husband-mistakes-wife-for-intruder-fatally-shoots-her/ https://fox59.com/2019/07/14/police-husband-mistakes-wife-fo... https://trib.com/news/local/police-man-mistakes-girlfriend-for-intruder/article_89ffed7b-ab05-5536-9440-2cb3ee4ba0dd.html https://trib.com/news/local/police-man-mistakes-girlfriend-f... https://amp.clickondetroit.com/news/police-detroit-man-mistakes-girlfriend-for-intruder-fires-shot-striking-her-in-wrist https://amp.clickondetroit.com/news/police-detroit-man-mista... https://truecrimedaily.com/2017/10/05/dad-mistakes-daughter-home-from-school-for-intruder-shoots-her-dead/ https://truecrimedaily.com/2017/10/05/dad-mistakes-daughter-...
    - rootusrootus 7y ago
      Pointing to media reports as evidence sorta proves the point accidentally.
      - cobbzilla 7y ago
        indeed, lmao. getting a JOMO right now just looking at those silly links & feeling zero desire to click thru.
mkr-hn 7y ago
I tried subscribing to the EFF and ACLU newsletters to keep up on stuff that matters without being on social media, but the volume was worse than their Twitter accounts. I want to know when people try to legislate me out of public life or worse, but it felt like they sent an email several times a day.
- andrepd 7y ago
  Maybe it's just that bad?
esoterica 7y ago
You may be privileged enough to not be personally affected by any of the political conflicts roiling society today, but many other people are not as lucky as you are. There are millions of people whose lives risk being destroyed based on the whims of politicians, and they have every right and reason to be scared. Your smug indifference does not make you more enlightened than everyone else.
- cobbzilla 7y ago
  Your incorrect assumptions say more about yourself than they do me. I refuse to live a fear-directed life, that is all.

Bootwizard 7y ago

I feel exactly the same way. I stopped using social media and reading the news a few months ago and I've never been happier in my adult life. It's shocking how much regular reading of negative news can impact your emotional health. I even considered myself on the verge of depression at one point. As soon as I stopped reading the news daily and completely cut myself off of social media, my mood and emotional wellbeing began improving. There's nothing you're missing out on by doing this, only the spread of fearmongering by the media. The world is not ending tomorrow, and experiencing your own life is more important than vicariously experiencing all the negative things in the world through the internet.

wool_gather 7y ago
Have you considered re-adding a measured amount of news -- at least local -- to your week? You're absolutely right that a lot of the so-called "news" is garbage and just a source of negative emotional energy. Especially the flotsam drifting across social media... On the other hand, there are things happening in the world, decisions being made and actions taken, that almost certainly affect stuff you value. This is especially true in your town/county/sub-national political region -- which is why I said "local". It's still not exactly fun a lot of the time, but knowing -- and being able to influence! -- what's going on around you ultimately has more upside than down.
- kraetzin 7y ago
  I concur. It's important to be engaged with what's going on locally and things that will directly impact you and people around you. If everybody ignored these things and just kept their heads down then I'd argue we'd all be worse off. Your own mental state could be improved by ignoring them, but I do believe that we all have some responsibility to try and improve the society around us. I've found that keeping exposure to media down to every week or two and mostly reading summaries of events after the fact has helped immensely. It filters out all of the noise you get from live reporting. This helps get down to the facts of what's happened, and allows one to keep a certain emotional detachment from the events and focus on the important things.
- Bootwizard 7y ago
  Well my local news organizations are particularly bad as well, so not really.
- momokoko 7y ago
  But are they? It's important to vote, but realistically what are you accomplishing for yourself or anyone else by keeping up on things everyday. Let's even use Brexit as an example. For the average everyday person in England, brexit is a huge deal. But what benefit is there to the general population to keep up with every twist and turn of political maneuvering? In the end it's important to vote smart. Voting smart can br done via checking up on current events once a week if not once month. Things really do not move as fast as online news and social media will lead you to believe. Brexit is taking years to happen. But if you keep up with the news you might think everyday is the brink of doom or salvation. When in fact the average person has months or possibly years between actionable events.
  - wool_gather 7y ago
    It looks like you've hit 'reply' on the wrong comment? I didn't say anything about everyday, or "keeping up with every twist and turn" of the national news.
foolinaround 7y ago
there is a real need for a site that provides just the bare details of the news without need to editorialize, etc. I should be able to filter content; If I need to get more details, I can always google for that.
- Rumperuu 7y ago
  Try following a news agency—I like Reuters. They gather news reports and then sell them on to newspapers/broadcasters/etc. who add their spin and choose which details to focus on or ignore, so it's a bit like buying your food fresh from the farm.

Aloha 7y ago

I thought I was the only one who experienced this - I always have this mild feeling of bewilderment at people who are upset/angry/worried at everyone, and I'm always glad I dont feel the need to do the same.

newnewpdro 7y ago

Same here, then some family members started acquiring guns because of the fear and paranoia. To the extent that they brag about getting training so their response to a home invasion will be "muscle memory". It stopped being funny, and now I no longer visit some of those relatives for fear of being mistaken as an intruder and shot when stumbling into their home drunk after a night on the town during an extended visit as a house guest. In the past I would go across the country and stay with some of these relatives for a month or more in a spare room. Now it just doesn't seem safe with them keeping a handgun under their pillows.

cgag 7y ago
This seems a bit of pearl clutchery itself.
- astura 7y ago
  It's really not... It's legitimate fear... https://fox59.com/2019/07/14/police-husband-mistakes-wife-for-intruder-fatally-shoots-her/ https://fox59.com/2019/07/14/police-husband-mistakes-wife-fo... https://trib.com/news/local/police-man-mistakes-girlfriend-for-intruder/article_89ffed7b-ab05-5536-9440-2cb3ee4ba0dd.html https://trib.com/news/local/police-man-mistakes-girlfriend-f... https://amp.clickondetroit.com/news/police-detroit-man-mistakes-girlfriend-for-intruder-fires-shot-striking-her-in-wrist https://amp.clickondetroit.com/news/police-detroit-man-mista... https://truecrimedaily.com/2017/10/05/dad-mistakes-daughter-home-from-school-for-intruder-shoots-her-dead/ https://truecrimedaily.com/2017/10/05/dad-mistakes-daughter-...
  - rootusrootus 7y ago
    Pointing to media reports as evidence sorta proves the point accidentally.
    - cobbzilla 7y ago
      indeed, lmao. getting a JOMO right now just looking at those silly links & feeling zero desire to click thru.

mkr-hn 7y ago

I tried subscribing to the EFF and ACLU newsletters to keep up on stuff that matters without being on social media, but the volume was worse than their Twitter accounts. I want to know when people try to legislate me out of public life or worse, but it felt like they sent an email several times a day.

andrepd 7y ago
Maybe it's just that bad?

esoterica 7y ago

You may be privileged enough to not be personally affected by any of the political conflicts roiling society today, but many other people are not as lucky as you are. There are millions of people whose lives risk being destroyed based on the whims of politicians, and they have every right and reason to be scared. Your smug indifference does not make you more enlightened than everyone else.

cobbzilla 7y ago
Your incorrect assumptions say more about yourself than they do me. I refuse to live a fear-directed life, that is all.