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Why Americans avoid the news – and what it means for the US election

4 points by aspenmayer 2y ago

aspenmayer 2y ago
https://archive.is/RPl0p https://archive.is/RPl0p
AStonesThrow 2y ago
Okay, my father is an inveterate news addict. He reads the daily newspaper every day, cover to cover. He used it as a shield and a distraction to avoid interacting with his two children when he got home from work. My father also has the TV news on, non-stop. He'll channel surf to find the best coverage and the longest/earliest/latest shows. He used to run a police scanner in the evenings, so we could hear the news before it was reported. His politics are super-local, and he knows every local politician, every scandal, every platform and every nuance there could be. Yet through all of this inundation with journalism and a 24-hour news cycle, he seems unpreturbed, and still rational and able to form his own opinions based on his own values. He can tune stuff out remarkably well, and he's endured living in a noisy household with children, cats, television, radio, and neighbors. I got real sick of all this news. I've never subscribed to a newspaper on my own. I haven't owned an actual TV in 9 years. Basically I get most news from HN here, and I also read all the clickbait feeds from Bing.com and on my Android Chrome's New Tab Page. I also read a lot of Wikipedia, including the Main Page every day. So I suppose I'm well-informed by surface-level politics and world news. But yeah, I avoid most news websites entirely. Sometimes, if I believe something dramatic is going on locally, I'll locate some live local news and try to find out about it. Otherwise, I really couldn't care less.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
marssaxman 2y ago
I avoid news for a reason this article does not mention: its consistent bias toward drama wastes time on trivialities and misinforms by exaggerating the significance of unlikely events. I always vote, and I am always curious about what is going on in the world, but exposing myself to "the news" would create a lot of stress without leaving me significantly better-informed - so I just don't. If it actually matters, I'll hear about it, and if I'm curious, I'll read up on it; but a steady feed of crime and scandal and political horse-racing does nobody any good.

4 points by aspenmayer 2y ago

https://archive.is/RPl0p https://archive.is/RPl0p

Okay, my father is an inveterate news addict. He reads the daily newspaper every day, cover to cover. He used it as a shield and a distraction to avoid interacting with his two children when he got home from work. My father also has the TV news on, non-stop. He'll channel surf to find the best coverage and the longest/earliest/latest shows. He used to run a police scanner in the evenings, so we could hear the news before it was reported. His politics are super-local, and he knows every local politician, every scandal, every platform and every nuance there could be. Yet through all of this inundation with journalism and a 24-hour news cycle, he seems unpreturbed, and still rational and able to form his own opinions based on his own values. He can tune stuff out remarkably well, and he's endured living in a noisy household with children, cats, television, radio, and neighbors. I got real sick of all this news. I've never subscribed to a newspaper on my own. I haven't owned an actual TV in 9 years. Basically I get most news from HN here, and I also read all the clickbait feeds from Bing.com and on my Android Chrome's New Tab Page. I also read a lot of Wikipedia, including the Main Page every day. So I suppose I'm well-informed by surface-level politics and world news. But yeah, I avoid most news websites entirely. Sometimes, if I believe something dramatic is going on locally, I'll locate some live local news and try to find out about it. Otherwise, I really couldn't care less.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

marssaxman 2y ago

I avoid news for a reason this article does not mention: its consistent bias toward drama wastes time on trivialities and misinforms by exaggerating the significance of unlikely events. I always vote, and I am always curious about what is going on in the world, but exposing myself to "the news" would create a lot of stress without leaving me significantly better-informed - so I just don't. If it actually matters, I'll hear about it, and if I'm curious, I'll read up on it; but a steady feed of crime and scandal and political horse-racing does nobody any good.