Flee the news!

I came across this article explaining why paying attention to the news is pointless. I thought to myself, if people smarter than me don't read the news, maybe I should try. I don't have a television and I don't read the newspapers. But I had to shut down everything else that contained journalistic content: large chunks of Reddit, YouTube channels, every account that shared news on social networks, and I uninstalled news apps. It took some effort, but the quick positive results encouraged me to keep going.

Today I can say that I am much more optimistic about our world, unlike my parents who spend a lot of time on the news every day. I also have more free time. I spend it reading books, which I think is a much more fun activity. I feel that I am no longer interested in the immediacy, misinformation and superficiality of the news. Nowadays I am interested in broader issues, philosophical questions, science, not gossip or non-events. The days are quieter, and if something really catastrophic happens, people around me will be talking about it and I will be able to decide whether or not I need to dig deeper. It turns out that there are only benefits to escaping the news. You should try it.

Bonus link to get facts about our world, not opinions: Our World in Data.