At the house that was gibing away free books I picked up Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig, as I saw that it had a chapter on News.
It was a really interesting read - it starts off discussing the fact that with the rise of smart phones, we are able to visually see the horrible things happening in the world in real time. In turn, if we've seen a terrorist attack happening it becomes much easier to imagine one, even if we are one hundred times more likely to die or cancer or a heart attack. I really resonated with this theory. After the Paris attacks in 2015, I experienced a lot of anxiety from seeing that on the news that trickled down into my everyday life. I experienced trouble sleeping, as well as nightmares, as I was able to actually imagine what it was like because I had seen it on the news. I was scared to travel - and had a lot of anxiety visiting London shortly after the attacks happened. It never really resonated with me that if I had not seen those horrible videos and images on the news, then I would have been able to stay informed but be much less traumatised.
Haig goes further to discuss the use of shock tactics within the news. He says "If you are shocked you are confused. You aren't thinking straight. You become passive. You go where the people tell you to go." The media's use of shock is called Shock Doctrine - systematically using the public's disorientation following a collective shock for corporate or political gain. He goes on to describe how we are in a world full of news which is rarely absorbed. The media bombards us with 24-hour stories but never actually gives us a calmer, more reflective understanding of the bigger picture.
6 ways to keep up with the news and not lose your mind (reworded by me):
1. Remember that how you react to the news isn't just about what the news is, but how it's delivered to you. Social media and news channels report news in ways that make us feel disorientated. You might think things are getting worse, when actually they're just making you feel worse.
2. Limit the amount of times you look at the news.
3. The world is not as violent as it feels. Despite all it's horrors, society on a whole is less violent than it used to be.
4. Be near animals. They're therapeutic because they literally do not care about what's going on in society, and their lives still go on.
5. The news is full of things that you can't do anything about - so don't worry. React to things that you can change - raise awareness, give to charity.
6. Remember that looking at bad news doesn't mean good news is not happening. It's happening everywhere.
I really like these '6 ways of keeping up' - I could perhaps produce a manifesto or poster around them?
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