Why I don't consume news

    In short, it's too depressing.

    When I was a kid, my Mum used to get really quite upset watching the evening news each day.  So I learned that the evening news was upsetting.  Therefore even if the news of a particular day was on the downright dull side, I feel like I was pre-programmed to be upset by it.  And on the days when the news content was outright distressing, I was even more so.  And consuming this day in day out...  Well, ultimately I made the decision it wasn't doing my mental health any good.

    I've never really been a reader of newspapers anyway because I believe I've an allergy to the ink, albeit mild.  It causes a familiar scratchy sensation in the back of my throat.  It's familiar from when I've consumed certain foods which I think I'm mildly allergic to as well.  And if I ever accidentally get the ink from my fingertips into my eyes... well, it definitely isn't worth it.

    However, for a while I used to read the free newspaper (carefully) on the train to work on days when I'd forgotten my book.  I didn't think that occasional news consumption would be too bad.

    But I later 'banned' myself from doing that, after an article exposed me to a distressing case of animal cruelty.  I don't recall the title of the article, but I made the mistake of reading the piece.  There was a detail included I wished I'd never, ever read.  It stayed with me, causing me intense distress for days.  It still flashes involuntarily into my mind on occasions.  (I'm obviously not going to recount the detail here, because I wouldn't trigger anyone else with it for the world.)

    I also don't read what I call 'trashy' magazines anymore, for a similar reason.  (Things like Take a Break and Chat.) An article about the tragic consequences of certain mental illnesses contained a detail of how someone had ended their life.  It was graphic - not the photo alongside the article, of course, but the description of what had happened.

    In both cases, it hadn't been possible to tell from the title of the article that the piece was going to contain a detail of that sort.  I felt it'd been sprung upon me, with little warning.

    So, it isn't worth the risk to consume news.  I've painstakingly ensured that Google and YouTube etc do not show me news headlines, so I can't be tempted to click.

    I can always go and look specifically for coverage of something if, say, I overhear someone discussing anything topical and I want to find out what they're referring to.  Or if I want to be updated on the latest Covid restrictions I'll go straight to the dot gov site.

    It does mean that I don't stay abreast of what's going on in the world of politics, of course.  However, I like to believe that my research skills are sufficiently good that I'm able to make informed decisions come election time.  The press is pretty biased anyway, so you're better off going direct to sources you trust and doing your due diligence.

    My mental health is definitely better off for this decision.  A news boycott doesn't fix everything - especially when there's chronic physical ill-health in the picture, as for me.  But it has helped.

    If you don't want to go for a full news boycott yourself, I recommend considering the following.  This I've seen recommended by numerous 'lifestyle' YouTubers* and in other places.  Consider having ½ an hour free of device screens either last thing at night, or both 1st thing in the morning and last thing before bed.

*E.g. Simple Happy Zen - YouTube

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