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taking a news fast.....have you?

 
Judith Browning
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going on a news fast might be a bit like trying to quit smoking when everyone around me is puffing away?  
...I'm going to give it a try anyway.

My guy reads daily news stories but we have an understanding where neither of us wants to discuss most of what we read in the news...too many chores and projects and other things to discuss in our daily lives.

no tv or newspaper here so pretty easy to stop actively looking.


 
J. Syme
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I do this every year usually around Christmas time for 2-3 weeks. it resets my soul. highly suggest more try it.
 
Judith Browning
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That's a great idea J. Syme!  Taking a break on a more regular basis...I tend to wait until I'm over whelmed and stressed thinking I need to DO something and in a panic over what's going to happen next.

I have to remind myself of our decade in the woods with no news sources until mid 80's when we moved up to the top of the mountain and we were given a 12V radio.
I thought the world was ending when I caught up on news stories...too much all at once but I feel I need to be that desensitized again

 
r ranson
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I find I do this more and more.

Although, when I'm on a news fast, I do read the headlines of some more ultra-local news papers as they almost never have international news unless it's connected to someone in town.  

Mostly I go on full internet vacations where I allocate 20 min, twice a day for all my internet commitments.  It doesn't allow any time for news, so I only get to see the news headlines when I'm grocery shopping and walk past the paper display.
 
Anne Miller
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I pay no attention to news.  

I do glance at the Yahoo new feeds though I don't pay much attention (the ones that scroll at the top of the home page for a second).

There are much better ways to spend my time like reading the permies forum.
 
John F Dean
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I refuse to listen to the screamers and name callers.   That reduces the options significantly.  I find that I have to take the time to verify the “experts and the facts”. Of course that eats up time. In the end, I try to stay  informed, but it is hardly worth the effort.
 
Ben Zumeta
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To paraphrase John Hodgman, one of my favorite podcaster-humorists, “paying attention to all the bad things happening, then getting angry and sad, didn’t seem to be helping make them stop”.

I have heard other wise folks point out that if an event is “newsworthy”, it is almost always very novel, unlikely, and far away. So why worry about it? We generally do not have reliable, non-corporate local news anymore, so the likelihood something on the news will be locally relevant is even lower.

In general, I doubt it could be good for our psyche or society to be able to instantly find the worst things that happened in the world today at the click of a link.

 
M Ljin
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I think walking probably helps with any addictions, especially walking for a long time. And getting enough rest.
 
Les Frijo
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Ben Zumeta wrote:To paraphrase John Hodgman, one of my favorite podcaster-humorists, “paying attention to all the bad things happening, then getting angry and sad, didn’t seem to be helping make them stop”.



Another fine ruling by the good Judge John Hodgman.

Not very long ago it was hard to get so called "news". It's quickly become pretty hard to avoid.
 
Catie George
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The opposite - right now i'm using following the news as a lower stress, more wholesome thing to focus on than my personal life! Using it to calm down enough to focus on other things.


I was just mourning the decline of the newspaper recently.

Even if you buy one, modern newspapers are so watered down and so much smaller than they were.. Starting the day with a newspaper was a great way to get little tidbits of news from around the world, without too many click bait headlines, insults, or shouting opinion panels.
 
Judith Browning
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I was just mourning the decline of the newspaper recently    



Catie,
I used to love the news stand in the loop in Chicago where I could buy an international newspaper or local...pick it up, read at my leisure, put it down and be done with it.
and the tobacco shop news stands back in my smoking days (40 yrs ago)

I am sorry that you are finding the 'news' less stressful than your personal life at the moment....I hope things will improve for you soon💜
 
Carla Burke
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The newsstands in Chicago were amazing. Particularly the one in Union Station. I rarely bought a paper, though, because riding the train, there were always people leaving their papers, when they got out, at their stop. I like free.
 
Deedee Dezso
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I watch news shows mostly for weather forecasts. Or if there's been a weather event to know what to expect. As nearly all the other news is bad, terrible,  or bordering on insane, I skip most of it most of the time. Scrolling Facebook gets me a few headliners. And I have a couple of emailed headliners. I scan those and delete before reading.  Mostly news-free has eased my sense of doom coming.
 
Michelle Gillian
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I have had to take a news fast for my mental health, I am also on a social media fast- these feeds have become as divisive as the news and only seem to want to generate anger and angst. Of course I do keep my personal art and herbalism pages very clean!
 
Ebby Pearson
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I haven't intentionally watched the news....since.....oh.....2010?
I saw a man in a GIF of all things, like before shorts were thing, laying his 3 dead children down and crying over their dead bodies. I couldn't eat for three days. I had just become a mother of 2 at that time and that was the big NOPE for me.
I literally just let my husband filter the nonsense and if it pertains to life or something I'll hear about that will poorly effect me, he lets me know and I'm pretty okay with that.
I've been living with less stress and anxiety because of it so there's that.

And it's not like I don't discuss current events, I just have a person filter the stuff that doesn't matter.
 
Ted Davis
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Taking a break from news has been so helpful for me too. I noticed that when I stop doomscrolling and focus on my homestead and hobbies I feel less anxious and more present. I tend to pick up my guitar or work in the garden instead, and it’s amazing how much more peaceful life feels without the constant stream of headlines.
 
Johanna Sol
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Facebook Reels all of a sudden became a thing and turned me into an addict for a while. I thought reading the comments under them would help me figure out the mentality of people who have different ideas of reality, current events, and morality/ethics than I do. I have appreciated the reels showing people who are speaking out about abuses in various ways, but the comments are a complete waste of time and take away energy from other things I could be doing, and sometimes disrupt my sleep, none of which is healthy. Taking care of our property and growies and co-leading a hiking group keeps me grounded and reminds me that I and my family are very blessed to have the things we do, and I do more for the world to focus on that. I appreciate hearing that others benefit from turning off the news too.
 
Jay Angler
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I am at the age where people famous in my formative years, are dying. I like to avoid foot-in-mouth disease, so I try to be a little aware. Robert Redford, may you rest in peace - 89 years is a great score, so your passing is sad but also worthy of celebration.
I was more sad to hear that Robert Munsch is failing. I read many of his books aloud to my children, and debilitating diseases are a tough way to go.
So I haven't taken a total "news fast", but I certainly choose my news sources carefully, and I *truly* wish there were fewer out there whose approach appears to be as addictive as possible.
 
Deedee Dezso
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And today we lost Robert Redford.  How long before all my youth famous are gone? The ones I expect to hit me hard are Elton John, Sting and Phil Collins. Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott.
 
Judith Browning
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day 5:  easier than I thought to just quit reading the 'news'.  I was mostly following some substack authors and NPR....reading always felt less involved and in my face than watching videos or the televised news programs but still unsettling.

Yesterday at the library I thought I'd check my facebook page as I had not in weeks.   The first thing in my news feed was a friends post with a political meme screaming at me so I logged back out🫤

and there it is ...the world chugs right along in spite of my 'not knowing' it's every move 🙃



 
Tereza Okava
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awesome!
I spent one week working overtime to prep for a trip, and then last week at a professional congress (where I presented on mental health, among other things) with not a look at anything except my work email and messaging with my family.

I apparently missed a lot of news (I am a total news junkie, but i'm not really interested in catching up, considering all the horrible things that seem to have happened in the last two weeks) but somehow the world magically keeps turning, the peas keep growing, the clients keep calling.
It's almost like a little miracle every day.
If you're news fasting, I hope it's doing good things for you!
 
Judith Browning
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Tereza,
good things, yes. most definitely.

In the way distant past (late 60's/early 70's), I would have been out at protests, putting some effort into changing what can be changed through public protest and civil disobedience.....
I still think that's a sure way to resist and make good changes through non violent protests even though I fled to the woods in '73....everyone has to make they're own choices.

I've found out 'doom scrolling' (what an appropriate term!) is not the way for me and I fell into it so easily.
The best I can do now, I believe, at my age, is throw some positive energy out to the universe in whatever way I can.



 
Tereza Okava
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Judith Browning wrote:In the.... past ... I would have been out at protests


It's funny you say that.
In the not so distant past, I was out there registering voters and marching and being part of protest letters to the NY Times, etc.

I have reached a point where I feel like right now, I need to focus more on the well-being of my family and myself. It sounds very selfish out loud but that's exactly the motivation for me living where and how I do.
that said, one of the things I talked about at the conference is how things are not likely to get any easier soon. I am making a concerted effort to get out of my bubble and interact with people who have very different opinions from mine (since that is our current reality) to see them as something more than just people "on the other side"- they become the lady I hike with or the guy from Pilates. I need to do this for my own health to not feel isolated. Sometimes there are awkward moments, and how I respond may vary, but in the end I am the one who needs to survive, and my world to a certain extent is small enough as it is.
 
r ranson
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I strongly believe one of the greatest acts of protest we can do is to say no.  I'm not giving my energy to the drama/entertainment industry called the news.  I have a garden to tend, a meal to cook from scratch, and a button to sew back on my shirt.

When news starts taking time away from getting things done, I know something needs changing in my life.  A news-fast is a good starting place.
 
Judith Browning
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an unexpected benefit to my news fast is that it has cut my data use in half!
'The News' was not nearly half of what I read on line but now, by skipping it, has noticably, everyday, lowered my megabytes by at least half from what was normal before.


 
Timothy Norton
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I'm fortunate to have an excellent independently managed local paper located in my town. I support them and it has become my main intake of news. The owner does a great job curating meaningful local stories and cutting out the 'fluff'. I couldn't be happier!
 
M Ljin
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Drama industry indeed.

Let’s sum up the headlines from today, what’s going on in the world. Leaves are turning and falling, acorns are dropping; the day is mostly sunny; peaches are ripening and falling to the ground; the neighbor’s grieving bull is looking a little perkier than the other day, mugwort is flowering in droves along the roadside (smells heavenly), worms are churning earth, squirrels and chipmunks are engaged in frantic activity; hickories are dropping in plenty; I am tired and it makes sense; scientists have attempted to uncover a new use of creeping thistle (broth) and found that it was a stronger liver medicine than is prudent for food, unless perhaps it is consumed incrementally; autumn olives just starting, not good enough to eat yet; chufa is fattening and hardening down by the river, and the foxtail grass is ripening seeds; parsnips are ready to harvest. Scientists also announce the potential for a horchata industry based around the Tuber Bulrush (Bolboschoenus spp.)

Woodlice have been churning earth, honey mushrooms have been growing up from dark river earth, I lost a piece of metal I’ve been working on and have been looking for it. Milkweed is getting yellow leaves, and iris is looking good to harvest in the future for basketry; the rivers are drier than I’ve ever seen (unfortunately) and if there is any rain it will probably be a drizzle (haven’t looked at the Official Forecast either). The rivers are cool but not overly cold.

There is plenty to be “read about” that no one will ever realize or think about when they’re doomscrolling. We only have so much space in our minds and what we fill that space with becomes our reality. Taking a break from the news is a choice—it is a choice to focus on the world around us rather than the “world” in the screen or the piece of paper.
Staff note (Nancy Reading) :

Permies' news headline thread: https://permies.com/t/359584/BREAKING-WORLD-NEWS-IMPORTANT (please add your own )

 
Jill Dyer
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Not a News fast per se, but very selective reading.  I stick with the Australian on-line ABC news, particularly because they fact-check anything iffy.  This morning Tom Paxton's song "Daily News" came up and it prompted the thought that although times and people reported on may change the reports seem somehow just the same.  How do I know? I read it in the Daily News. . . https://genius.com/Tom-paxton-daily-news-lyrics
 
              
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Every morning the wife and I discuss headlines and the news of the day. We are far off grid. We could easily disappear and actually have done so, but we have kids. So we keep current to discuss with the Gen (whatever) children. And to sharpen our priorities, morals and ethics.

It's not all about worms.
 
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