I think the problem is a little more nuanced than watching news or not watching news. It has to do with what media scholars call agenda setting theory. That is

I think the problem is a little more nuanced than watching news or not watching news. It has to do with what media scholars call agenda setting theory. That is, media can't always persuade us to believe in a story, but they're very good at persuading us to think about a story. News sources like Fox, MSNBC or CNN might dwell on 3-5 leads in a day. Because they're so ubiquitous and influential, they might make you concentrate on (even debate) an issue that has little relevance to your life. The solution is not shut out news altogether, but to consciously seek out sources of news that are relevant to your interests and your community. It's analogous to consuming food: if you pay attention to what you're taking in and where you're getting it from, you'll feel a lot happier and healthy.