News & Politics: Where to start and stop?

[Guest EmptyVase]

I've noticed that I invest so much time in my own development, be it carreer or passion wise, that I don't really read any news any more. I can't really talk with other people about news & politics, because I barely read that stuff. I've tried to read it in the past and it was always kind of interesting, but I couldn't keep up that habit, because one thing really bugs me about it: I don't know where to start and where to stop reading news. I don't know how to decide what's relevant and what's not.

You can obviously read about one topic for hours, without really completely finishing that one thing. That's one problem, but there also is the problem that there are so many different news ranging from so many different fields, that I completely lose sight where to even start. So my main problem lies within width and depth. Until now, I've only really read, what I found interesting or important to me personally. But now I want to be able to talk politics with others around me, not standing there like a fool, not knowing about anything what's going around in the world.

I concluded that there are three main categories for news & politics: local, national and international. I think it would be useful to know, what's roughly going on within those three categories, especially national & international. But then again, there is SO MUCH going on, that I don't know where to start and how deep to go with one topic. For me personally, I also find it difficult to evaluate and pinpoint how relevant one topic is (for my own development).

A friend suggested to watch the daily 15 minutes news, because that is supposed to cover the most relevant stuff, nationally and internationally. But then again, everyday they talk about a little bit of politics and stuff that's not even worthwhile talking about, like a crash which happened somewhere in the country. Like literally, who the fuck cares about that one particular crash, when everyday there are so many different accidents?

To really have a holistic understanding about one topic, you'd need to read the same thing from many different sources - everyday. That would be extremely time consuming and could be a serious waste of time, if done improperly.

Now I don't want to invest too much of my time in news & politics, but I do think that it is important to know at least a little bit, what's going around in the world. Also it delivers important case studies for the understanding of humanity, with all of its practical examples.

How do you judge what and how much to read from news & politics? What advice would you give me, to navigate through the mess and huge load of information, that is out there?

[Preety_India]

Just watch a little of everything everyday. 

Brush up on key political areas. 

 

[Roy]

Spend enough time to know the big picture macro stuff that's happening in the world, but don't waste your time becoming an encyclopedia of semantics that needs to keep up with every little detail of those happenings.

Never follow any one news source consistently, as in don't subscribe to them and worry about consuming the content they put out every day.

Rather dabble and constantly jump from one news source to another so you get a well balanced perspective on the "truth" of what is going on.

When you start to become a fan of a channel or catch yourself attacking or defending different perspectives, then you've already lost. This isn't to say you aren't allowed to have preferences, just be careful not to get too attached to them.

Edited September 14, 2020 by Roy

[Guest EmptyVase]

@Preety_India @Roy I see, so you say that a little bit of dabbling through different sources will give me a clue of what the key areas are, how to identify them and how to set boundaries on how much to read per topic? Like quickly glancing through the given text? I guess the more important the topic, the less quick scanning of texts? And the more further research on that particular topic? Makes sense.

[Preety_India]

@EmptyVase  there is no hard and fast rule about this because you shouldn't get too caught in deciding what you want to learn. The goal is to not miss out on anything. The best is a random approach. Politics is very confusing, so you have to be like a hopper, hopping over different areas. 

You can't learn things in one day or even a month. I have been following American politics since 2015 and only recently I have been able to make major changes to my political leanings and I still struggle because there is a lot of fake news, manipulation, propaganda and brainwashing that happens 

Beware of YouTube gurus and commentators because a lot of them have an agenda depending on who they serve and the masses they cater to. Don't get sucked into that 

Be open minded to go through many commentators and read a lot and keep brushing up for fine tuning. 

There is always new information accumulating. Never rely on one source and do intensive research. 

For example if I came across a video on protests, I see many videos shot by different sources before making my conclusion. 

A lot of gurus are sitting on YouTube to pander to people and make money off sensationalism so do not give into that. 

Keep it simple, play the Devil's advocate and be neutral. 

A lot of the YouTube material can radicalize, brainwash and screw your mind totally. 

Now I take their opinions with a grain of salt. 

A lot of the YouTube political gurus went through a Hall of Fame for me and now recently all of them are falling like a pack of dominos through the Hall of Shame. I'm giving up on most that I used to follow before. 

You can't take them like a holy grail. Having a keen sense of observation and lot of research helps in unraveling hidden agendas if you want objective truth and not confirmation bias. 

My boyfriend is American and he helps me a lot with understanding American politics and he is a very trusted source for me. He helped me change dramatically on my political opinions and exposed a lot of lies of the American media. 

Good luck 

 

 

[Guest EmptyVase]

@Preety_India Thank you very much for your detailed explanation!

[Parththakkar12]

@EmptyVase There was a time when I really didn't care about what's going on around me. I just worked on my own life. Then, after a certain point, after I'd created a moderately comfortable life for myself, then I started to feel disconnected from the world. That's when I started to feel motivated to look around at the world around me and see what's going on.

There's no such thing as 'spending too much time on your own development.' You need what you need!

Edited September 14, 2020 by Parththakkar12

[Guest EmptyVase]

@Parththakkar12 Yes that's true. Also reading about news & politics can also be part of one's own development I think. In the end, it's all about balance.