4 ms·

Well, yes sensationalised news, full of emotional baggage is bad for mental wellbeing. However, I think completely opting out of news is a rather extreme choice

Well, yes sensationalised news, full of emotional baggage is bad for mental wellbeing. However, I think completely opting out of news is a rather extreme choice. Having some information what is happening in your country, and in the world is good to feel a level of connectedness to it. Then there are practical reasons. Not knowing the news you might miss a major tax change, or an opportunity for some state benefit you might be entitled to (a low interest loan for first homeowners, a subsidy for an electric car or a PV setup). Then there are elections. How is one supposed to cast an informed vote without following the news? (this only applies to places where new parties pop up and dissapear every voting cycle, in places with more static selection of political forces this is less of a concern).

slothtrop 3y ago
> How is one supposed to cast an informed vote without following the news? Presumably by catching up on big-ticket issues right before an election, rather than shallowly consuming every piece of rage-bait. I expect that retrospectives are more accurate anyway. I find it hard to resist glancing at aggregate news headlines, despite most of it being of no use to me or deliberately misleading. I find I don't have much of an emotional reaction to it, but maybe that's skepticism at work.
- Roark66 3y ago
  >Presumably by catching up on big-ticket issues right before an election, rather than shallowly consuming every piece of rage-bait. I expect that retrospectives are more accurate anyway. This is very much country depended I guess. Here in Poland if you only tuned in right before an election you'd miss a huge amount of crucial context.
npsimons 3y ago
> How is one supposed to cast an informed vote without following the news? You do know that in most countries, how representatives vote is public? See https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes for example.

slothtrop 3y ago

> How is one supposed to cast an informed vote without following the news? Presumably by catching up on big-ticket issues right before an election, rather than shallowly consuming every piece of rage-bait. I expect that retrospectives are more accurate anyway. I find it hard to resist glancing at aggregate news headlines, despite most of it being of no use to me or deliberately misleading. I find I don't have much of an emotional reaction to it, but maybe that's skepticism at work.

Roark66 3y ago
>Presumably by catching up on big-ticket issues right before an election, rather than shallowly consuming every piece of rage-bait. I expect that retrospectives are more accurate anyway. This is very much country depended I guess. Here in Poland if you only tuned in right before an election you'd miss a huge amount of crucial context.

npsimons 3y ago

> How is one supposed to cast an informed vote without following the news? You do know that in most countries, how representatives vote is public? See https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes for example.