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engaging with the world
For a while there, I was not sleeping well. Not enough, and what I got was very spotty and fragmented. Eventually I realized that fretting about the state of the world was keeping my mind whirring and preventing me from settling down.
Then I saw a post from someone saying that they were cutting the news out of their life for a while, for the sake of their own peace of mind. The gist of their perspective was that they already knew by now what things were awful, so they could take that as read. They didn't really need this awfulness underlined again every day. Knowing the particular details of how the awfulness had shifted somewhat was no help to them. And these were all things that they couldn't do anything about, so more knowledge was not a guide to more action or more solutions.
Then someone else said that they had set up filters on their social media, for similar reasons. This is not something I had ever tried myself, but I decided to now. So I did, a few days ago.
Now, posts will appear on my social media, but instead of content I get a message saying this post contains filtered items. So I know the post is there, and it's up to me to decide if I want to see it or not. So far, I have been declining.
And I can't help but notice that I am consistently sleeping more soundly since I began to filter out some of the awfulness.
I understand there are those who will object. Who will tell me I have a duty to know what's going on in the world. As in, knowing everything, every detail. [Most of us who grew up in the days before the 24-hour news cycle realize that you can get by without unceasing news updates.] And there are those who will accuse me of flaunting my privilege, because it must be nice to be able to afford to ignore these things. [I don't deny that my life is privileged and blessed in numerous ways, even if I'm not rich.]
But the people who were cutting out this influence from their online lives were framing it more in terms of self-care. Protecting their health which was suffering because of this psychic onslaught. And that's how I'm choosing to frame this for myself: self-care. Like, I don't accept that I am flaunting my privilege by eating regularly, simply because there are other people who don't. [I do count my blessings, though.] If I have the capability to nurture myself [as opposed to wallow in decadent luxury] then I will do so, as much as I am aware and able.
Maybe that's just me.
Then I saw a post from someone saying that they were cutting the news out of their life for a while, for the sake of their own peace of mind. The gist of their perspective was that they already knew by now what things were awful, so they could take that as read. They didn't really need this awfulness underlined again every day. Knowing the particular details of how the awfulness had shifted somewhat was no help to them. And these were all things that they couldn't do anything about, so more knowledge was not a guide to more action or more solutions.
Then someone else said that they had set up filters on their social media, for similar reasons. This is not something I had ever tried myself, but I decided to now. So I did, a few days ago.
Now, posts will appear on my social media, but instead of content I get a message saying this post contains filtered items. So I know the post is there, and it's up to me to decide if I want to see it or not. So far, I have been declining.
And I can't help but notice that I am consistently sleeping more soundly since I began to filter out some of the awfulness.
I understand there are those who will object. Who will tell me I have a duty to know what's going on in the world. As in, knowing everything, every detail. [Most of us who grew up in the days before the 24-hour news cycle realize that you can get by without unceasing news updates.] And there are those who will accuse me of flaunting my privilege, because it must be nice to be able to afford to ignore these things. [I don't deny that my life is privileged and blessed in numerous ways, even if I'm not rich.]
But the people who were cutting out this influence from their online lives were framing it more in terms of self-care. Protecting their health which was suffering because of this psychic onslaught. And that's how I'm choosing to frame this for myself: self-care. Like, I don't accept that I am flaunting my privilege by eating regularly, simply because there are other people who don't. [I do count my blessings, though.] If I have the capability to nurture myself [as opposed to wallow in decadent luxury] then I will do so, as much as I am aware and able.
Maybe that's just me.
Thoughts
That is a common and rapidly increasing problem. When the news is depressing and nerve-wracking, it can threaten your health.
>>Then I saw a post from someone saying that they were cutting the news out of their life for a while, for the sake of their own peace of mind. <<
I gave up on mainstream news many years ago when its quality declined to the point that I no longer had anything to say about it other than "Da, eto Pravda" (literally "That's the Truth" but colloquially "bullshit") and "Panem et circenses" (bread and circuses). It just doesn't hold any value for me nowadays.
In current context, there are two more factors. 1) Wasting my time on the mainstream news drains time and energy from areas where I could be learning or doing something useful. 2) I can't fix the mess of politicians acting like little boys writing their name in pee, but I can deny them something they want very much: my attention.
I prefer to look for news in places that have information which is actually useful to me. Online, like Goodgoodgood for uplifting news. Science Daily provides a steady stream of things that are interesting punctuated by things that are actionable. EarthSky offers pretty pictures and events I might want to go outside and watch. In hardcopy, The Nation and In These Times cover current events, mostly things people are doing to try to fix them.
Conversely, when I am writing about problems, I try to provide some idea what people can do about them. This is popular with my readers. You don't have to waste your energy trying to flog an unwilling government into action; there are things you can do personally. I can't make the government treat immigrants as human beings, but I can shop at ethnic restaurants and stuff a few extra dollars in the tip jar at ethnic restaurants.
>> But the people who were cutting out this influence from their online lives were framing it more in terms of self-care. Protecting their health which was suffering because of this psychic onslaught. And that's how I'm choosing to frame this for myself: self-care. <<
Exactly. You don't owe anyone your attention.
Re: Thoughts
Re: Thoughts
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Thank you for this post.