“Hey Babe, do you know that Mr. A, an ex-governor and one of the presidential candidates, has an affair with one of those “hot girls” on social media? Rumor has it that he has a baby with her. And now she’s asking for his responsibility. He’s doomed! His political career will go nowhere after these.”
My friend told me that when she met me the other day. Even though I don’t pay attention to it, I honestly heard it before, since it was the big news in my country. He is a popular public figure, and his social media is full of images that show his love for his wife. People call them: Couple Goals. But turns out, the rumor came out. Is it true or not? We never know. It could be that this is only character assassination from his political rival. Everything can happen. One thing is for sure: now the ball is moving wildly. In the eyes of the public, it doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not. The truth is, his name is already broken. If this was their rival’s plan to destroy his character, then they’ve won the battle.
That is what is dangerous about rumors. It can ruin people’s lives. Sadly, most of the media loves it! They love to “fry” all the situations. Serve it when it’s hot! They tend not to care if it’s valid or not. They only care to grab our attention and the benefit that comes with it. Sometimes it’s biased. More about agendas than truth. The news has become a tool for shaping opinion, not informing. And who’s got the most bad effect on it? Surely, people who consume the news.
It can cause mental health overload. Constant exposure to negativity, like scandals, wars, disasters, and corruption, can lead to anxiety or depression. Imagine if we have a trust issue, after we know the news about the political figure I’ve mentioned earlier, we start to feel anxious about our spouse. We see them as a couple goals, but it turns out it was all a lie. So, what kind of man do we have to trust? We are questioning everything; in fact, our spouse is perfectly okay, nothing to worry about. Sure does, it’s not good for our relationship. It’s the same with the other negative news; it will bring us a sense of helplessness and despair. Too much consumption of the news tends to make us lose focus. We are adapting the Doomscrolling habit. And it will distract us from our creative and personal goals. Eating up our mental energy meant to bigger and deeper work. In the end, it will change our mindset into a scattered and reactionary mindset rather than focus and see the bigger picture.
It’s a very noisy world out there. We know that we can get the information and news as simply as turning the palm of our hand. We are flooded with information and news. It’s only an inch away from our hand. It’s our gadget. We got less insight than ever since it’s not curated enough. Our minds will be full of something that isn’t necessary for us to know, more alone to understand. This is based on my experience: life will become simpler and easier when we stop watching and reading news. If you are afraid you will lose information and can’t catch up on the latest information and news, so what’s wrong with that? The truth is, if the information or news that is important for us to know eventually, in the end, they will come to us by themselves.
Afraid you will miss “something important”? From my experience, if something really important happens, you will hear about it, even if you live in a cocoon that protects you from the news. Friends and colleagues will tell you about relevant events far more reliably than any news organization. They will fill you in with the added benefit of meta-information, since they know your priorities and you know how they think. You will learn far more about really important events and societal shifts by reading about them in specialized journals, in-depth magazines, or good books, and by talking to the people who know. – Rolf Dobelli, “Stop Reading The News”.
Well said, Sir! He also argues that news is often irrelevant, misleading, and anxiety-inducing, and that abstaining from it can lead to a calmer, more focused, and insightful life. He believes that by eliminating news consumption, we can reclaim our time, reduce stress, enhance our ability to think clearly, and make better decisions.
But maybe you still have these questions in your mind: If I stop consuming news, how can I get the important news or information? Don’t worry, better alternatives exist. Instead of engaging with the constant stream of news, we should focus on long-term content such as books, in-depth articles, essays, curated newsletters, or podcasts, direct sources, or data that provide more meaningful and contextual information. And this is good for our personal development; shifting to those will enhance thinking and decision-making. We will develop creative thinking and see the big picture, and it will lead to better long-term decisions. On the other hand, news is made to give us fragments of information, often without depth or context. It trains our brain to think in quick takes, not in deep insights.
Simply put, news is addictive, headlines are designed to hook our attention, and checking news becomes a constant, unconscious habit. And most of it is non-essential for our personal or professional lives. By cutting it out, we save hours per week that can be used for reading, learning, creating, or simply resting. Borrowing Dobelli’s term, news is creating “mental pollution,” which includes: anxiety and fear, a false sense of danger and chaos, and mental chaos. Avoiding the news will help us stay calm and centered. I’m not saying, “Don’t know anything,” but “Know the important stuff. Don’t let all the noise mess with your focus.”
Love,
Kirana
