Personal Choice

[snaples]

There's a good reason I don't watch or read the news.  Some people have criticized me in the past for wanting to be purposefully ignorant, or for not keeping abreast with certain issues that require change from the general populace.

I have always agreed with them and their opinion.

It has not, however, changed my stance.

I find, in reading the news, that there is so much hatred and violence, and abuse and worry and neglect and (insert any and all negative emotion/situations/acts here) in the world.  And it affects me on a level that threatens my very health.  I am generally known as a depressive-prone person; it is an illness I fight everyday with some modicum of success.  Throw in there occasional bouts of panic/anxiety, and you have yourself a recipe for emotional disaster.  I can easily cry and feel depressed for days, weeks, over cases of abuse or violence (one and the same really) in children.

In some self-defense mechanism acquired over the years, I have stopped reading the news and keeping myself informed with the world.  I carefully sift through entertainment, odd, funny or heartwarming tales and discard the articles on hatred, violence and such.  I will read about ill children and their stories of recovery, or wisdom through illness, because I admire their courage and their positive outlook and their infinite wisdom we, as adults, will barely know in an entire lifetime.  I love these stories, because they cause me personal growth.  I do not feel any wiser reading about violence.

It keeps me generally ignorant -- but there is truth in the adage that such a thing as blissful ignorance exist.

Call me weak.  I suppose ... one day, I will be strong enough to deal with it.

Comments

[one_short_fuse]

I can fully understand your stance on news - I'm that way, myself. My boss thinks there's something wrong with me when she asks if I saw such-and-such thing on the news, or heard about such-and-such story, and I say 'no'. I'm generally just not interested in news, because of all the crap you mentioned.

I have to say, though, that as a generally non-news type of person, I love google news. I've got mine set so that the only section it shows is the science/technology section, in addition to 'top stories' that i skip passed just to get to my section, to satisfy my geekiness.

[celtic_maenad]

Just wanted to say you're not the only one.

For the most part, I avoid news sources. I do listen to NPR (West Virginia Public Radio) during my commute some mornings, but they do overviews that usually don't bring me down too much. If I start getting emotionally involved in their stories, I put in a CD or change the channel. The other thing I use is Yahoo's home page - I read the headlines but not the articles. That keeps me a little more informed without getting me emotionally involved enough to affect my mood cycles much.

[inteligrrl]

I was just thinking about this topic this morning. I deliberately haven't watched the news since 9/11. I follow links from friends or hear about events in the office and I figure that keeps me as up to date as I need to be. I don't like our voyeuristic culture, and I don't like how over exaggerated things become in the name of sensationalism. The few times I have followed the news I find myself getting more and more strung out over things I cannot have an effect on. I'm grateful to the people who have the emotional energy to care about watchdog groups and are well informed about current events, but I simply can't be while maintaining a healthy mental space. Instead, when I hear about things I do my research and act, but unless it's brought to my attention I try not to pay any attention to the news. It's kind of nice to know that others share my same purposely oblivious state.