I had a thought as I was driving to work today. When I was a kid, I didn't care about the news. The only things that concerned me were those in my immediate life--school, friends, family. If it wasn't important for everyday life, it wasn't important. And the world felt wide-open.
As I grew older, the world closed down, even as it got larger. The paths that I saw branching before me as a kid closed off, one by one. The oft-repeated "You can be anything you want to be" was gradually revealed as the falsehood it is.
Things that seemed like the be-all and end-all when I was a kid became small potatoes as an adult. Looking back at those "life and death" moments, you realize just how unimportant they really are in the grand scheme of things. Unimportant now, and unimportant then.
What does this have to do with the news? The news makes you feel unimportant. It shows you have little or no control over the happenings of the world, and it convinces you that these things over which you have no control are things that you should be expending energy on. Why wouldn't they be important--they're on the news!
All those "life and death" moments you have as a kid are important. They were important then, and moments like that are important now. Individual moments, individual relationships, the comings and goings of everyday life.
I felt a bit of that today. I felt a bit of the feeling that the world was opening again, in a good way. I can't be sure it's connected to my skipping the news, but I think it is.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Day Three: Withdrawal, or the News Kiosks Strike Again
"This is stupid."
Or so my brain told me this morning on my commute. "You don't read that much news, this doesn't make much difference. What are you even trying to do?"
The withdrawal was starting. My own mind was rebelling, making completely contradictory arguments. If I didn't actually read too much news, and it didn't really matter anyway, why did I want to start reading it again?
This definitely has the feel of kicking an addiction. Well, what I imagine kicking an addiction must feel like; I've only really ever had a Coke problem (the fizzy stuff). And although news is similar to junk food, I'd say this addiction has more in common with kicking smoking--it's very visceral. I'm constantly wanting to type "nyt" into my address bar, wait for the autofill, and go to the Times home page, even if I don't really want or need to be there. It's a mindless habit, the comforting white noise humming in the background of my web browsing.
I was able to put down the mental mutiny at first. Work was a bit slower today, offering me more opportunities to miss being able to check headlines. Even that wasn't too bad, though. What did me in was lunch.
I really need to control the automatic reflex I've picked up of looking at the newspaper kiosks on the way into the cafeteria. My first trip for coffee was fine--I was aware of myself and didn't look. Unfortunately, I was rushing to lunch, rushing leads to old habits, and I caught a glimpse of the headline splashed across the page: "GREEK TRAGEDY".
Oh no! What happened? Almost certainly the news has something to do with the flailing Greek government. But what happened? Did the European nations make some important decision? And what effect did it have on the U.S. stock market?
My mind raced with all these questions, none of which had answers that would change how I lived my day-to-day life. And when I thought about it in those terms, I was able to push the curiosity away. For now.
Or so my brain told me this morning on my commute. "You don't read that much news, this doesn't make much difference. What are you even trying to do?"
The withdrawal was starting. My own mind was rebelling, making completely contradictory arguments. If I didn't actually read too much news, and it didn't really matter anyway, why did I want to start reading it again?
This definitely has the feel of kicking an addiction. Well, what I imagine kicking an addiction must feel like; I've only really ever had a Coke problem (the fizzy stuff). And although news is similar to junk food, I'd say this addiction has more in common with kicking smoking--it's very visceral. I'm constantly wanting to type "nyt" into my address bar, wait for the autofill, and go to the Times home page, even if I don't really want or need to be there. It's a mindless habit, the comforting white noise humming in the background of my web browsing.
I was able to put down the mental mutiny at first. Work was a bit slower today, offering me more opportunities to miss being able to check headlines. Even that wasn't too bad, though. What did me in was lunch.
I really need to control the automatic reflex I've picked up of looking at the newspaper kiosks on the way into the cafeteria. My first trip for coffee was fine--I was aware of myself and didn't look. Unfortunately, I was rushing to lunch, rushing leads to old habits, and I caught a glimpse of the headline splashed across the page: "GREEK TRAGEDY".
Oh no! What happened? Almost certainly the news has something to do with the flailing Greek government. But what happened? Did the European nations make some important decision? And what effect did it have on the U.S. stock market?
My mind raced with all these questions, none of which had answers that would change how I lived my day-to-day life. And when I thought about it in those terms, I was able to push the curiosity away. For now.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Day Two: Temptation
My first work day with no news. The day started with another examination of what counted as news, brought on by my long commute. I listened to the classical station a bit, and then: NPR news break! It took a good ten seconds before I even realized I was listening to a news update--I heard a bit about the Taliban taking responsibility for something--and I switched the channel once my brain caught up with my ears. Music, for a few seconds, followed by the morning's headlines. I was quicker this time, switching immediately, to... more news headlines.
Okay, that was it. On went the iPod--no news updates there.
Once at work, I had my easiest choice of the day, removing the New York Times as a homepage from my browser. Not much ambiguity there.
On the way to the cafeteria for coffee, I found myself reflexively turning my gaze towards the newspaper vending machines in the entryway. Argh! Turn away! Luckily, there was only a bit of Academy Awards news on display, mostly one large picture, so I wasn't (consciously) tainted by that.
News is everywhere.
The rest of the day went pretty smoothly, as I was busy in meetings, so I didn't have a chance to consider checking headlines. I didn't even think about the stock market all day. (Great, now I want to know what the Dow did. Must... not... check.)
The commute home brought a tougher decision--Boston sports radio. I couldn't even keep a straight face in my own mind when trying to make the argument to myself that sports radio is entertainment, not news. I was not as forgiving as I was yesterday, when I allowed myself a few websites. No sports radio, not even a bit. iPod music for the entire way home.
I made it through the day. I made it! And then my wife turned on The Daily Show.
This is going to be hard.
Okay, that was it. On went the iPod--no news updates there.
Once at work, I had my easiest choice of the day, removing the New York Times as a homepage from my browser. Not much ambiguity there.
On the way to the cafeteria for coffee, I found myself reflexively turning my gaze towards the newspaper vending machines in the entryway. Argh! Turn away! Luckily, there was only a bit of Academy Awards news on display, mostly one large picture, so I wasn't (consciously) tainted by that.
News is everywhere.
The rest of the day went pretty smoothly, as I was busy in meetings, so I didn't have a chance to consider checking headlines. I didn't even think about the stock market all day. (Great, now I want to know what the Dow did. Must... not... check.)
The commute home brought a tougher decision--Boston sports radio. I couldn't even keep a straight face in my own mind when trying to make the argument to myself that sports radio is entertainment, not news. I was not as forgiving as I was yesterday, when I allowed myself a few websites. No sports radio, not even a bit. iPod music for the entire way home.
I made it through the day. I made it! And then my wife turned on The Daily Show.
This is going to be hard.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Day One: What is News?
First things first. I had to replace the New York Times page as my homepage, obviously. For both browsers I use. At work and home. Yeah, I was in deep.
What to replace it with? I went with the New Yorker (long-form articles) and Science and Nature magazines. That may change depending on how useful I find them, but seems like a good start. I agree with Dobelli that one thing that should replace news consumption is deep reading about how the world actually works, and these three sites qualify. I'm sure I'll find more as this experiment progresses.
The straight news sites are easy to identify and eliminate. I'm having trouble with other semi-news sites, though. Should I keep visiting Facebook? Not exactly news, but it has some of the same bad characteristics. I decide FB is okay for now, so long as I don't overdo it. A few reasons I think this is okay: (1) it is entertainment and clearly identifiable as entertainment and (2) I can control what I see on FB, unlike news which serves me what they think is important. FB has information that may actually personally affect me, or may help me make a decision. So it's a yes for now.
Having said that, if I find I start spending unreasonable time on FB, I may reduce it to once a day or eliminate it altogether.
A more difficult case is io9. It's definitely very newsy, but it also discusses interesting science and technology (usually with links to longer articles on the topics). At first, I told myself no, it's too much like news. In some ways, being an aggregator, it represents the worst of the culture of bite-size news stories.
And then I relented. I've found many good science articles through io9. Plus they do have original long-form articles as well. And there's an element of entertainment rather than news. Maybe I'm already rationalizing...
I expect to eventually limit or eliminate io9 as well, though. I'd like to get my sci-fi and fantasy fix through fiction. But it's in for now.
Lest you think I'm not eliminating much news: overall the majority of the sites I visit are out. Slate, MSN, Yahoo, CNN, NY Times, Wired--all gone. I'm going to have to find some good new reads.
What to replace it with? I went with the New Yorker (long-form articles) and Science and Nature magazines. That may change depending on how useful I find them, but seems like a good start. I agree with Dobelli that one thing that should replace news consumption is deep reading about how the world actually works, and these three sites qualify. I'm sure I'll find more as this experiment progresses.
The straight news sites are easy to identify and eliminate. I'm having trouble with other semi-news sites, though. Should I keep visiting Facebook? Not exactly news, but it has some of the same bad characteristics. I decide FB is okay for now, so long as I don't overdo it. A few reasons I think this is okay: (1) it is entertainment and clearly identifiable as entertainment and (2) I can control what I see on FB, unlike news which serves me what they think is important. FB has information that may actually personally affect me, or may help me make a decision. So it's a yes for now.
Having said that, if I find I start spending unreasonable time on FB, I may reduce it to once a day or eliminate it altogether.
A more difficult case is io9. It's definitely very newsy, but it also discusses interesting science and technology (usually with links to longer articles on the topics). At first, I told myself no, it's too much like news. In some ways, being an aggregator, it represents the worst of the culture of bite-size news stories.
And then I relented. I've found many good science articles through io9. Plus they do have original long-form articles as well. And there's an element of entertainment rather than news. Maybe I'm already rationalizing...
I expect to eventually limit or eliminate io9 as well, though. I'd like to get my sci-fi and fantasy fix through fiction. But it's in for now.
Lest you think I'm not eliminating much news: overall the majority of the sites I visit are out. Slate, MSN, Yahoo, CNN, NY Times, Wired--all gone. I'm going to have to find some good new reads.
Day Zero: No News
I read a lot of news: the New York Times, CNN, the local newspaper; I'd make the rounds all day every day. I wanted to stay informed, to know what's happening in the world around me. I fully understand that most of it doesn't apply to me, and it biases me toward what's in the news, but it's better to be informed than not, right?
Then I read Rolf Dobelli's "Avoid News: Towards a Healthy News Diet". Wow. I had no idea what I was doing to myself.
I had thought about this before--I had read enough of The Black Swan to hear the basic argument that news is unhelpful--but Dobelli's article crystallized the concepts in a way that really struck me. Even though I was fully aware of how little the news items directly affect me, Dobelli points out that the repeated process of reading the news still takes its toll. And I have noticed my ability to concentrate, while not shot, is not as strong as it used to be.
Hence this blog. I've taken Dobelli's advice and gone cold turkey from news. This blog is meant to document the effects--the good, the bad, and the ugly--from cutting myself off from news consumption. I'll also talk about what I do to fill the time, and anything else that comes to mind (including all those brilliant ideas I'll have now that my mind is free of news clutter!).
Then I read Rolf Dobelli's "Avoid News: Towards a Healthy News Diet". Wow. I had no idea what I was doing to myself.
I had thought about this before--I had read enough of The Black Swan to hear the basic argument that news is unhelpful--but Dobelli's article crystallized the concepts in a way that really struck me. Even though I was fully aware of how little the news items directly affect me, Dobelli points out that the repeated process of reading the news still takes its toll. And I have noticed my ability to concentrate, while not shot, is not as strong as it used to be.
Hence this blog. I've taken Dobelli's advice and gone cold turkey from news. This blog is meant to document the effects--the good, the bad, and the ugly--from cutting myself off from news consumption. I'll also talk about what I do to fill the time, and anything else that comes to mind (including all those brilliant ideas I'll have now that my mind is free of news clutter!).
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