I used to be a news addict, doom-scrolling through Google News etc. several times a day. After the Trump years, though, I decided to take a break. Basically sto

I used to be a news addict, doom-scrolling through Google News etc. several times a day. After the Trump years, though, I decided to take a break. Basically stopped consuming most news, only occasionally checking the wire services (like apnews.com) maybe a few times a month or less. Yep, the country's going to shit still, the Middle East is at war, the world's burning up, schoolkids are getting murdered, etc. Same ol', same ol'. Nothing I can do about any of it anyway, so what's the point of stressing over it? I don't even remember any major events after Covid, and my life seems no better or worse off for it. I also deleted all my social media a few years ago, and that was definitely a HUGE net positive. I don't think people in general -- as a barely evolved ape -- really have the mental and emotional capacities to consume ceaseless global catastrophes in real-time. It just seems like a surefire recipe for anxiety and depression. The "media-pharmaceutical complex", maybe?