Do You Read News?

[a e l i]

I prefer to avoid TV and popular newspapers, they're full of negativity and contain unreliable information. Though I feel like knowing more about the world is important.

Do you inform yourself about what happens in the world? If no, why? If yes, what news sites or sources do you think are reliable?

[Ayla]

No news. No TV. No newspapers.. 

Quote

If no, why?

Feels so free  

[undeather]

Yes, I do! 

Political decisions are going to affect my life, even if I dont want them to. I spend about 10 minutes a day browsing through my news-app on my cellphone - thats more than enough time to get a picture of whats going on. Its true that too much of that can potentially fuck you up but I believe that if you are mindful and open minded enough, this shouldnt happen.

[Daphne]

I used to follow the news a lot but nowadays I find other things more interesting I guess.. It sort of slipped away, same thing with watching TV what in my opinion is 99% bullshit most of the time..

[vizual]

Oh yes, I occasionally indulge myself with trivial things such as pop culture and news. It keeps me somewhat in touch with the occupations and interests of the common man. Call it a curiosity, not so much a need or genuine interest.

[Systemic]

I keep abreast of current events because knowing whats going on in the world does affect my life and business.  However, I rarely spend more than 10 minutes on it each day because most news is just low consciousness nonsense.  

I like the site newser.com for glancing over the days headlines.

[Avi]

No news and it feels great! 

[Psychonaut]

No, it doesn't interest me.

If the news was actually news. If it was factual, well researched and multiple perspectives I would be more interested. But it is just one perspective, which varies depending on the country and the newspaper.

On top of that most of the news can be classified as entertainment and not news, where they choose to report on whatever gets the most views.

Edited February 17, 2016 by Psychonaut

[Choks]

I usually stay away from mainstream, biased news like CNN, fox news, ABC etc. Sometimes it feels like it is such a waste of time the stories they tell, how they manipulate information, and the whole purpose of it is to get you into your lower self. No news, is good news... I prefer to invest my time in personal development, hobbies, and my career instead of getting info plowed into my brain that is usually useless and created by the mind and ego. In my opinion, things like politics don't even exist, it is totally made up and it is used to make the people feel they have some sort of control when really they don't. I do come from a past where i loved politics, loved current events, and watched the news everyday, but then i realized how news were negatively affecting me by making me love to get in touch with that side of my lower self, and consuming so much of my time. To be informed, i just read the headlines on my phone (takes me about 3 min.) and these sites may be useful if you want to stay away of mainstream media. 

http://www.globalresearch.ca/

http://www.hangthebankers.com/

Edited February 17, 2016 by Chocoo

[ayokolomo]

Last week there were violent protests in my city.  Clashes with the riot squad, streets set on fire, the whole thing.

I didnt know about it for at least 5 days until after the fact.  Maybe this news blackout that I have created for myself is too extreme.  Maybe a better balance needs to be found

[Emily]

I've worked in public relations for a decade now so obviously the media is a big part of my job. Since I've known I'm getting out of the corporate world though, I've stopped reading the news - or should I say propaganda - which had started to feel more like a chore than a passion. 

It's actually felt quite liberating not knowing what's going on (or what people want you to believe is going on!). The following paragraph is from The Power (Rhonda Byrne) which resonates with me, as does the statement besides it:

 

[abrakamowse]

Very cool information, thanks all!

[FindingPeace]

11 hours ago, Psychonaut said:

No, it doesn't interest me.

If the news was actually news. If it was factual, well researched and multiple perspectives I would be more interested. But it is just one perspective, which varies depending on the country and the newspaper.

On top of that most of the news can be classified as entertainment and not news, where they choose to report on whatever gets the most views.

I second this. I've come to realise that 'news' is deliberately engineered to provoke responses within people that appeal to the 'low self'. So it usually provokes judgment, criticism, dogmas, general unrest and complaint. The proof of this is that most news isn't good news, and people love to complain about 'negative' issues. It makes it popular. In fact so much of it is even engineered out of very few facts that are strung together, spun and conveyed in a deliberately biased and provocative way.

I've also noticed how much 'news' is in fact just old news, revamped and resubmitted to the masses with very little added value from the previous version. They can spin out a week's worth of news articles on some occurance somewhere, but never actually tell you anything new or useful by the end of the week that they didn't know at the beginning. It's all very much mindless monkey-chatter. Very clever chatter at that - they actually create the illusion of news when it really isn't! They create stories that relate to the story. They invent hypotheses and theories. So much of it is tenuous at best. And eventyally it become boring and old news, then it fades away.

Also, news that is 'accurate' is still largely unimportant to me. Things going on around the world or even in my own country ultimately are of now real, practical consequence to me. I don't need to fill my head up with world affairs that I can do nothing about or which have no immediate impact on me. It's just more stuff to ruminate over. Feeds the monkey-mind.

Even politics is of no interest. Governments will do whatever they do. I will adjust my life to work with it if I need to. Most of the time it makes very little difference to my peace of mind or wellbeing.

Ultimately as I become more detached from all this chimpery, the events of the world will become of less importance. It's much like Leo talks about when he mentions 'truth' - If it's true then you will be experiencing it. It will be real and there in front of you.

News isn't often concerned with circumstances within my immediatae life. When it is, it won't be news, it will be a reality for me.

I see news as, to coin Leo's expression, mental-masturbation.

Edited February 17, 2016 by FindingPeace
Added content

[abrakamowse]

@Choks  Those websites that you posted, awesome!

Many thanks.

[JeffR1]

I 'quit' watching, listening to or reading news, current affairs, radio and magazines about 8 years ago - I was going through a tough time and all I was getting from the media was negativity! I needed inner-focus and all the monkey mindless chatter of the media was simply of no use to me. I still watch some TV, but only selected shows relating to my hobbies and interests. I record these shows so I can fast forward the commercials! 

@a e l i  I don't feel any great need to inform myself with what is going on in the world (many of the reasons I share with the posts above). Sometimes I'll hear a grab of information here or there, maybe overhear someone talking and so forth. But, other than that, I prefer to be present as much as I can and the media is just so distracting and negative.

[7thLetter]

No not at all. The news gives you an unrealistic neurotic viewpoint of the world. I used to follow a local twitter account which would tweet negative occurrences in my area, which gave me a very negative view of what my city is like. My mom watches the news a lot and she has become very neurotic and causes her to worrying about me and my siblings a whole lot. The news is totally pointless if it has nothing to do with you and your life. And why would anyone ever watch what's happening in another country? It has nothing to do with them, they're just feeding their minds with negativity.

[phizzuela]

Reading the posts above kind of makes me sad. Self actualization for me is not about shutting myself off from the rest of the world and retreating into my own positive thoughts bubble. Its like saying “oh everyone is suffering and the whole world goes to hell but I dont give a shit 'cause I dont want to be concerned with that kind of stuff, it makes me think negatively“. If we all just do self development work and are only concerned with what is in front of our nose, we are kind of what society wants us to be: unconcerned egotistical individuals, unable to relate to each other.

 

You guys have a valid point in saying that a lot of news doesnt necessarily give you more information, so I agree with you that you should consume the news consciously and filter it. There is a lot of low consciousness talk in the media, but you have this everywhere (I dare to say: even here!), but as a thinking person, you are able to filter it out. If it makes you think negatively, then counter balance this with positive thinking techniques, but dont screen it out of your life completely. Politics is real, if you like it or not.

 

[Ben Landrail]

I don't. But it depends on your lifestyle. For some people reading quality news is important for their job, for some, like me, it's not. I will hear all I need to know from my family or co-workers, so there's no need to waste time every day sifting through the propaganda or useless junk.  

[Pallero]

If I follow the news, I get lost in the negative spirals of despair. That way I can't focus on becoming my best self to actually help the world.

That is why I don't follow the news.

That doesn't stop me from being curious about the world and life in general. I seek out information that is useful to me, but the news are seldom it. FILTER.