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> Less news is being consumed by Canadians I don't think this is a bad thing tbh. I've also started reducing my news consumption years ago. First there was the

> Less news is being consumed by Canadians I don't think this is a bad thing tbh. I've also started reducing my news consumption years ago. First there was the pandemic where there was only bad news not worth watching. And now we have an extreme-right government in Holland so I'm simply disillusioned and I don't care what they do anymore. At the same time most news sites (like the mainstream nu.nl) require either payment or logging in with an account which I refuse so I'm just skimming the news headlines on the national state broadcaster (NOS) once a day or so. I still follow the local city news a bit because those things actually matter in my life. But not on social media, I've blocked all news outlets there (on the few i still check because I've greatly disconnected from socials since even before the pandemic). I simply don't care anymore. And guess what? I'm a lot happier for it. A lot less things to get angry about. I just spend my time talking to friends and people I do actually care about. I think it's because both socials and the regular news love promoting controversial topics because they get more engagement. People get all wound up and that makes them stay on the platform to argue and thus see more ads. I'm kinda done with that. And most news is really not that important anyway. My life is not noticeably changed by not knowing all but the most important news facts. I'm fine without it, most of it was just FOMO. Ps I really appreciate HN for not doing this. I still learn a lot of nice and interesting things here.

pegasus 2y ago
> And now we have a fascist government in Holland so I'm simply disillusioned and I don't care what they do anymore. If that's indeed the case, it should be an alarm call for all citizens to start caring and getting politically involved even more than before. It's not like the world owes us not to go up in flames, and if it does, we shouldn't just sit down shaking our head in disappointment.
- wkat4242 2y ago
  Yeah it's really sad when our own minister of immigration was promoting the "displacement theory" :'( And I'm already politically active, I always was. But I the these people thrive on dissent just like social media does. Anger is a very strong emotion. Ps I have since edited the term fascist to extreme-right as it's a more appropriate description. Though both apply IMO. For example the party in question doesn't even permit members. It's all about the one guy who decides everything.
- nailer 2y ago
  > If that's indeed the case It's not. The Netherlands remains a parliamentary representative democracy.
  - wkat4242 2y ago
    It is but with a quarter of people voting for extreme-right I'm very disenfranchised and I just don't care about society anymore. The good thing is that the current coalition is so unstable it will likely collapse soon. Even during their inaugural debates they couldn't stop slinging mud.
    - squigz 2y ago
      > It is but with a quarter of people voting for extreme-right I'm very disenfranchised and I just don't care about society anymore. Unfortunately this is how the far right is able to gain power.
tossandthrow 2y ago
> I don't think this is a bad thing tbh. I am quite sure this does not mean that Canadians consume less digital content. Just that is is not news (from Canadian news outlets). For a sovereign country this is catastrophic. It probably means that Canadians consume even more reddit style media, YouTube shorts or outright propaganda from foreign nations.
- soupbowl 2y ago
  Canadians can watch most major news broadcasts on YouTube. Also we have our own state sponsored media and propaganda, is foreign propaganda guaranteed to be worse?
seryoiupfurds 2y ago
>> Less news is being consumed by Canadians > I don't think this is a bad thing tbh. Less real news, but not necessarily less political content. And now you can't reply to misinformation with a link to a real news story.
- yc_anus 2y ago
  [dead]
jen729w 2y ago
After doom-scrolling Covid all through 2020, I stopped reading all news at the start of 2021. I haven’t deliberately visited the home page of a news organisation since. It’s not a hard ban. I’ll click a link someone sends me, not that people do that. I’ll walk past my partner’s iPad and look over her shoulder. Occasionally I’ll pick up a print edition of the Economist. But, by and large, I don’t ’read the news’. I can only recommend it. ‘The news’ as published on the majority of sites is mostly crap you don’t care about. Even the reputable sites. And then when it’s some big event that you are supposed to care about, that just makes you sad/angry/whatever. People say that I’m absolving myself of my responsibility to society. Nah. I vote (I have to, I’m Australian). My vote hasn’t changed in 20 years, nothing I read is going to do that now. And I wasn’t politically active before, so that hasn’t changed. Just stop reading the news.
- ost-ing 2y ago
  I don't think disconnecting entirely is the answer. You also vote with your money and attention. I think following and funding credible, solution oriented outlets and investigative journalists that can deep dive into topics is important for holding power accountable, and transforming the social landscape. Australians need to care more about improving society - not just the media landscape but in so many facets. Its not going to fail-forwards for much longer, and the cracks are showing
create-account 2y ago
>First there was the pandemic where there was only bad news not worth watching. scaremongering people’s amygdalas 24 hours a day for more than six consecutive months must have left a mental scar on people’s minds and the newborn children

pegasus 2y ago

> And now we have a fascist government in Holland so I'm simply disillusioned and I don't care what they do anymore. If that's indeed the case, it should be an alarm call for all citizens to start caring and getting politically involved even more than before. It's not like the world owes us not to go up in flames, and if it does, we shouldn't just sit down shaking our head in disappointment.

wkat4242 2y ago
Yeah it's really sad when our own minister of immigration was promoting the "displacement theory" :'( And I'm already politically active, I always was. But I the these people thrive on dissent just like social media does. Anger is a very strong emotion. Ps I have since edited the term fascist to extreme-right as it's a more appropriate description. Though both apply IMO. For example the party in question doesn't even permit members. It's all about the one guy who decides everything.
nailer 2y ago
> If that's indeed the case It's not. The Netherlands remains a parliamentary representative democracy.
- wkat4242 2y ago
  It is but with a quarter of people voting for extreme-right I'm very disenfranchised and I just don't care about society anymore. The good thing is that the current coalition is so unstable it will likely collapse soon. Even during their inaugural debates they couldn't stop slinging mud.
  - squigz 2y ago
    > It is but with a quarter of people voting for extreme-right I'm very disenfranchised and I just don't care about society anymore. Unfortunately this is how the far right is able to gain power.

tossandthrow 2y ago

> I don't think this is a bad thing tbh. I am quite sure this does not mean that Canadians consume less digital content. Just that is is not news (from Canadian news outlets). For a sovereign country this is catastrophic. It probably means that Canadians consume even more reddit style media, YouTube shorts or outright propaganda from foreign nations.

soupbowl 2y ago
Canadians can watch most major news broadcasts on YouTube. Also we have our own state sponsored media and propaganda, is foreign propaganda guaranteed to be worse?

seryoiupfurds 2y ago

>> Less news is being consumed by Canadians > I don't think this is a bad thing tbh. Less real news, but not necessarily less political content. And now you can't reply to misinformation with a link to a real news story.

yc_anus 2y ago
[dead]

jen729w 2y ago

After doom-scrolling Covid all through 2020, I stopped reading all news at the start of 2021. I haven’t deliberately visited the home page of a news organisation since. It’s not a hard ban. I’ll click a link someone sends me, not that people do that. I’ll walk past my partner’s iPad and look over her shoulder. Occasionally I’ll pick up a print edition of the Economist. But, by and large, I don’t ’read the news’. I can only recommend it. ‘The news’ as published on the majority of sites is mostly crap you don’t care about. Even the reputable sites. And then when it’s some big event that you are supposed to care about, that just makes you sad/angry/whatever. People say that I’m absolving myself of my responsibility to society. Nah. I vote (I have to, I’m Australian). My vote hasn’t changed in 20 years, nothing I read is going to do that now. And I wasn’t politically active before, so that hasn’t changed. Just stop reading the news.

ost-ing 2y ago
I don't think disconnecting entirely is the answer. You also vote with your money and attention. I think following and funding credible, solution oriented outlets and investigative journalists that can deep dive into topics is important for holding power accountable, and transforming the social landscape. Australians need to care more about improving society - not just the media landscape but in so many facets. Its not going to fail-forwards for much longer, and the cracks are showing

create-account 2y ago

>First there was the pandemic where there was only bad news not worth watching. scaremongering people’s amygdalas 24 hours a day for more than six consecutive months must have left a mental scar on people’s minds and the newborn children