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I stopped viewing all news media companies five years ago. Real news will get to you pretty quickly by other means such as HN which I still frequent a couple of

by boznz 1mo ago

I stopped viewing all news media companies five years ago. Real news will get to you pretty quickly by other means such as HN which I still frequent a couple of hours a week. Modern news is re-hashing even the trivial in the worst possible way and inviting the extreme idiots on both sides to fight it out in the comment section, I can honestly say I am missing nothing and still find myself informed and happier.

paulpauper 1mo ago
It is hard to abstain from news completely. The mainstream media is becoming increasingly like social media, feeding on shared sentiment and vague feelings of outrage.
- irjustin 1mo ago
  Yes but very possible. I also did it during the latest once the latest election was decided. Removed all news sites but also stopped looking at facebook, news on youtube, and the biggest one was reddit. Reddit really affected me. It was so easy to read -> become angry -> engage. I choose to be less informed to save my mental health, I know I'm way happier.
- irishcoffee 1mo ago
  It really isn’t. I haven’t watched the news on tv in probably 20 years, I haven’t had any social media accounts ever, and at this point I use the internet as part of my day job, to do my job. It is absolutely amazing to be so disconnected and I encourage everyone to try it. People at work tell me about interesting things happening in the world, and my role and my spouses role at her job have the (mis) fortune of keeping me informed about the goings on in the wider world. But there is no spin.
  - paulpauper 1mo ago
    Just visiting this site means you're inundated with a lot of news about AI or tech companies, and politics pertaining to those matters. It's hard to remove politics from issues. I think only the most niche of communities avoid politics completely.
    - inigyou 1mo ago
      The most niche of communities are flooded with their own internal politics. The less important the community, the more toxic the politics.
  - basscomm 1mo ago
    > It really isn’t. I haven’t watched the news on tv in probably 20 years It's frequently beneficial to know what's happening in the world around you, even though possessing a sense of empathy can make knowing what's happening in the world around you unpleasant.
    - dageshi 1mo ago
      I hear this repeated often but I'm not actually sure how or why it's beneficial?
    - smithniels 1mo ago
      Okay I'll bite, in your opinion what are the benefits?
      - basscomm 1mo ago
        You're asking me to enumerate the benefits of knowing what's going on the world around you? It's probably not relevant or beneficial if it's something like miners being trapped in a cave on the other side of the planet, but when you get down to your local community you might want to know about things like: - Road closures - Boil orders - Product recalls - Neighborhood breakins - Weather forecasts and alerts - Updated laws and court rulings that might impact you - Public safety notices - Health inspections - Public works projects - and a zillion other things that happen as a consequence of living in a complex society
  - MajorTakeaway 1mo ago
    You're on HN, that's social media.
    - irishcoffee 1mo ago
      A web forum is not social media. Full stop.
- OroPla 1mo ago
  Maybe it's like a drug? I never read/watched news in my entire life and find it pretty easy. It's impossible to completely shield yourself from getting the news at all, which is a bit unfortunate. I feel I would lead a happier life if I didn't get to know who the president of the USA was, for example. It's completely meaningless knowledge anyway. But for some reason most people are really interested and will tell you, even if you never ask.
- HDBaseT 1mo ago
  If you watch the news, you'd think the sky is falling. TOOL - Vicarious "Eye on the TV, 'cause tragedy thrills me Whatever flavor it happens to be like Killed by the husband, drowned by the ocean Shot by his own son, she used the poison in his tea Then kissed him goodbye, that's my kind of story It's no fun 'til someone dies Don't look at me like I am a monster Frown out your one face, but with the other Stare like a junkie into the TV Stare like a zombie while the mother holds her child Watches him die, hands to the sky, crying "Why, oh, why?" 'Cause I need to watch things die From a distance Vicariously, I live while the whole world dies"
ex-aws-dude 1mo ago
Same, I've learned if something is important enough I'll hear about it anyway
- mypalmike 1mo ago
  The news is virtually never important enough. And my definition of “important enough” is “actionable”. There’s a pervasive idea, mostly among more educated people, that keeping up with political news is civic minded and responsible. I’m not sure if I’m just cynical or small minded but I just don’t see the point. Getting a daily blast of topics to worry about that I have no control over doesn’t seem like a good use of this life journey.
  - ex-aws-dude 1mo ago
    I agree in general but I guess a counterargument is that you can't know if its actionable if you don't know about it
ericpauley 1mo ago
"He who reads nothing will still learn the great facts, and the details are all false." –Thomas Jefferson

by boznz 1mo ago

paulpauper 1mo ago

It is hard to abstain from news completely. The mainstream media is becoming increasingly like social media, feeding on shared sentiment and vague feelings of outrage.

irjustin 1mo ago
Yes but very possible. I also did it during the latest once the latest election was decided. Removed all news sites but also stopped looking at facebook, news on youtube, and the biggest one was reddit. Reddit really affected me. It was so easy to read -> become angry -> engage. I choose to be less informed to save my mental health, I know I'm way happier.
irishcoffee 1mo ago
It really isn’t. I haven’t watched the news on tv in probably 20 years, I haven’t had any social media accounts ever, and at this point I use the internet as part of my day job, to do my job. It is absolutely amazing to be so disconnected and I encourage everyone to try it. People at work tell me about interesting things happening in the world, and my role and my spouses role at her job have the (mis) fortune of keeping me informed about the goings on in the wider world. But there is no spin.
- paulpauper 1mo ago
  Just visiting this site means you're inundated with a lot of news about AI or tech companies, and politics pertaining to those matters. It's hard to remove politics from issues. I think only the most niche of communities avoid politics completely.
  - inigyou 1mo ago
    The most niche of communities are flooded with their own internal politics. The less important the community, the more toxic the politics.
- basscomm 1mo ago
  > It really isn’t. I haven’t watched the news on tv in probably 20 years It's frequently beneficial to know what's happening in the world around you, even though possessing a sense of empathy can make knowing what's happening in the world around you unpleasant.
  - dageshi 1mo ago
    I hear this repeated often but I'm not actually sure how or why it's beneficial?
  - smithniels 1mo ago
    Okay I'll bite, in your opinion what are the benefits?
    - basscomm 1mo ago
      You're asking me to enumerate the benefits of knowing what's going on the world around you? It's probably not relevant or beneficial if it's something like miners being trapped in a cave on the other side of the planet, but when you get down to your local community you might want to know about things like: - Road closures - Boil orders - Product recalls - Neighborhood breakins - Weather forecasts and alerts - Updated laws and court rulings that might impact you - Public safety notices - Health inspections - Public works projects - and a zillion other things that happen as a consequence of living in a complex society
- MajorTakeaway 1mo ago
  You're on HN, that's social media.
  - irishcoffee 1mo ago
    A web forum is not social media. Full stop.
OroPla 1mo ago
Maybe it's like a drug? I never read/watched news in my entire life and find it pretty easy. It's impossible to completely shield yourself from getting the news at all, which is a bit unfortunate. I feel I would lead a happier life if I didn't get to know who the president of the USA was, for example. It's completely meaningless knowledge anyway. But for some reason most people are really interested and will tell you, even if you never ask.
HDBaseT 1mo ago
If you watch the news, you'd think the sky is falling. TOOL - Vicarious "Eye on the TV, 'cause tragedy thrills me Whatever flavor it happens to be like Killed by the husband, drowned by the ocean Shot by his own son, she used the poison in his tea Then kissed him goodbye, that's my kind of story It's no fun 'til someone dies Don't look at me like I am a monster Frown out your one face, but with the other Stare like a junkie into the TV Stare like a zombie while the mother holds her child Watches him die, hands to the sky, crying "Why, oh, why?" 'Cause I need to watch things die From a distance Vicariously, I live while the whole world dies"

ex-aws-dude 1mo ago

Same, I've learned if something is important enough I'll hear about it anyway

mypalmike 1mo ago
The news is virtually never important enough. And my definition of “important enough” is “actionable”. There’s a pervasive idea, mostly among more educated people, that keeping up with political news is civic minded and responsible. I’m not sure if I’m just cynical or small minded but I just don’t see the point. Getting a daily blast of topics to worry about that I have no control over doesn’t seem like a good use of this life journey.
- ex-aws-dude 1mo ago
  I agree in general but I guess a counterargument is that you can't know if its actionable if you don't know about it

ericpauley 1mo ago

"He who reads nothing will still learn the great facts, and the details are all false." –Thomas Jefferson