For the better part of my adult life, I've been the kind of person that followed the news incessantly. From politics to human rights to war to science to sports and entertainment: if there was a new story, I'd be reading it.
Why?
Because smart people are well-informed, right? What kind of redneck, uneducated cretin didn’t know detailed accounts of what was happening on the ground in Syria last year? Or the implications and possible outcomes from North Korea’s aggression toward the US, Japan and South Korea? Or what the long term effects of Obamacare would or wouldn’t be in the US? How could I not keep up with this important news? It’s life changing stuff, it makes a difference, and it’s important to keep up to date with everything that’s happening. People are dying, society is collapsing, and the world is going to hell, and I would be a fool not to know what’s happening all around me. Right?
Wrong.
In late 2013, I asked myself: “Is my quality of life higher because I read the news?”
I pondered for a few days on this idea. I thought that reading the news had been such an obvious value all these years, that I benefitted greatly from being a well-informed individual. But in the end, I realized that my quality of life doesn’t improve from reading the news. I’m not a better person for reading the news or for being well-informed on current events. My productivity doesn't improve because of it, my relationships with friends and family and don't depend on it, and my health and well being don't benefit from it.
As I dove into this new concept, I asked myself a new question: “Do current events have a direct effect on my life?” Again, I thought the answer was an obvious yes. But it occurred to me that 99.9% of what I read about in the news has 0.1% effect on my life. I never meet the people I read about. I’ve never been to half the places many stories come out of, nor will I likely ever visit them. My immediate surroundings have an enormous impact on my life, but I spend my time reading about what is happening in the rest of the world. But why? To what end? What sense does it make to read the world news when it has a negligible effect on my quality of life?
To put things in perspective, I concluded that the new traffic light by my apartment has had a larger impact on my life than the 150,000 people that died in Syria last year. It feels ridiculous to write that sentence, but it’s absolutely true. So why stress out about it? I’m not going to go save all those people, nor will I convince any government to take action, so why would I waste my exceedingly short life keeping up to date with something that’s irrelevant to me?
So, I stopped reading the news. I decided to improve my signal-to-noise ratio by focusing only on what has an effect on me and the things I care about.
The results have been excellent, but it has been a struggle. My curiosity gets the better of me, and I sometimes find myself mindlessly clicking to news sites. I have to force myself to click away, because I know it doesn’t improve my life in any measurable form.
My focus and productivity at work have skyrocketed since I quit reading the news. I am able to keep my attention focused longer, because my head isn’t filled with irrelevant noise. I feel less stressed out, and I feel like I have a clearer vision of my own future and my own place in the world.
More importantly, and most unexpectedly, I have greater perspective and am more in touch with myself and the world around me. This is counter-intuitive, but you must remember that every news outlet on earth is biased and has an agenda. It’s inescapable. By taking myself out of the news equation, I’m able to make my own observations about what’s happening in the world, instead of consuming what someone else wants me to believe is important or what I should think is important.
Here is a short list of things I haven’t thought about since I quit reading the news:
Feminism - I don’t see any effects of it in my daily life. It’s a non-issue and doesn’t exist in my world.
Gay rights - I have a few gay friends, but they don’t mention gay marriage or gay rights. The issues I see guys here getting riled up about are irrelevant to my life.
Politics - By and large politicians have no effect on my life. My taxes might go up or down based on who’s in office, but other than that there is no value in knowing who said what or what new law is being passed or what person is running for office. Wholly irrelevant.
Ukraine Conflict - apparently something is happening in Ukraine, judging by the RVF subforum dedicated to it. But, I’ve never been to Ukraine, have no plans to go there soon, and don’t know anyone that lives there. So, what value would it bring to my life by knowing what’s happening there? Absolutely none.
Iraq/Afghanistan war - Is the US still there? Wouldn't matter to me either way.
The Collapse of Society - people love to harp on this one. I haven't seen any direct evidence of it in my daily life. Go figure.
Overall, my life hasn’t become worse since I quit reading the news. Which is proof that it didn’t improve my life when I was doing it. And in fact, as I mentioned above, there are notable improvements to my focus and reductions in my stress level since I quit.
You may ask: But what if something really important happens in the world? Well, then my friends will tell me about it. If something really truly important happens, something that will have a direct effect on my life and the way I choose to live it, then someone will bring it up. Otherwise, if they don’t, then it wasn’t important and it wasn't worth my valuable attention or consideration in the first place.
I know a lot of guys pride themselves on being super knowledgeable about world events, and on forming strong opinions on what's happening, what should be happening, and what they think is going to happen. But, I encourage all of you to ask yourself the following question: Does your quality of life improve from reading the news, and keeping up with current events? If it does, please let me know how. I would enjoy reading counter arguments to my theory and experience thus far.
My guess is that most of you, like me, have always just assumed it was important, but never really stopped to consider the value it does or doesn't bring to your life.
Why?
Because smart people are well-informed, right? What kind of redneck, uneducated cretin didn’t know detailed accounts of what was happening on the ground in Syria last year? Or the implications and possible outcomes from North Korea’s aggression toward the US, Japan and South Korea? Or what the long term effects of Obamacare would or wouldn’t be in the US? How could I not keep up with this important news? It’s life changing stuff, it makes a difference, and it’s important to keep up to date with everything that’s happening. People are dying, society is collapsing, and the world is going to hell, and I would be a fool not to know what’s happening all around me. Right?
Wrong.
In late 2013, I asked myself: “Is my quality of life higher because I read the news?”
I pondered for a few days on this idea. I thought that reading the news had been such an obvious value all these years, that I benefitted greatly from being a well-informed individual. But in the end, I realized that my quality of life doesn’t improve from reading the news. I’m not a better person for reading the news or for being well-informed on current events. My productivity doesn't improve because of it, my relationships with friends and family and don't depend on it, and my health and well being don't benefit from it.
As I dove into this new concept, I asked myself a new question: “Do current events have a direct effect on my life?” Again, I thought the answer was an obvious yes. But it occurred to me that 99.9% of what I read about in the news has 0.1% effect on my life. I never meet the people I read about. I’ve never been to half the places many stories come out of, nor will I likely ever visit them. My immediate surroundings have an enormous impact on my life, but I spend my time reading about what is happening in the rest of the world. But why? To what end? What sense does it make to read the world news when it has a negligible effect on my quality of life?
To put things in perspective, I concluded that the new traffic light by my apartment has had a larger impact on my life than the 150,000 people that died in Syria last year. It feels ridiculous to write that sentence, but it’s absolutely true. So why stress out about it? I’m not going to go save all those people, nor will I convince any government to take action, so why would I waste my exceedingly short life keeping up to date with something that’s irrelevant to me?
So, I stopped reading the news. I decided to improve my signal-to-noise ratio by focusing only on what has an effect on me and the things I care about.
The results have been excellent, but it has been a struggle. My curiosity gets the better of me, and I sometimes find myself mindlessly clicking to news sites. I have to force myself to click away, because I know it doesn’t improve my life in any measurable form.
My focus and productivity at work have skyrocketed since I quit reading the news. I am able to keep my attention focused longer, because my head isn’t filled with irrelevant noise. I feel less stressed out, and I feel like I have a clearer vision of my own future and my own place in the world.
More importantly, and most unexpectedly, I have greater perspective and am more in touch with myself and the world around me. This is counter-intuitive, but you must remember that every news outlet on earth is biased and has an agenda. It’s inescapable. By taking myself out of the news equation, I’m able to make my own observations about what’s happening in the world, instead of consuming what someone else wants me to believe is important or what I should think is important.
Here is a short list of things I haven’t thought about since I quit reading the news:
Feminism - I don’t see any effects of it in my daily life. It’s a non-issue and doesn’t exist in my world.
Gay rights - I have a few gay friends, but they don’t mention gay marriage or gay rights. The issues I see guys here getting riled up about are irrelevant to my life.
Politics - By and large politicians have no effect on my life. My taxes might go up or down based on who’s in office, but other than that there is no value in knowing who said what or what new law is being passed or what person is running for office. Wholly irrelevant.
Ukraine Conflict - apparently something is happening in Ukraine, judging by the RVF subforum dedicated to it. But, I’ve never been to Ukraine, have no plans to go there soon, and don’t know anyone that lives there. So, what value would it bring to my life by knowing what’s happening there? Absolutely none.
Iraq/Afghanistan war - Is the US still there? Wouldn't matter to me either way.
The Collapse of Society - people love to harp on this one. I haven't seen any direct evidence of it in my daily life. Go figure.
Overall, my life hasn’t become worse since I quit reading the news. Which is proof that it didn’t improve my life when I was doing it. And in fact, as I mentioned above, there are notable improvements to my focus and reductions in my stress level since I quit.
You may ask: But what if something really important happens in the world? Well, then my friends will tell me about it. If something really truly important happens, something that will have a direct effect on my life and the way I choose to live it, then someone will bring it up. Otherwise, if they don’t, then it wasn’t important and it wasn't worth my valuable attention or consideration in the first place.
I know a lot of guys pride themselves on being super knowledgeable about world events, and on forming strong opinions on what's happening, what should be happening, and what they think is going to happen. But, I encourage all of you to ask yourself the following question: Does your quality of life improve from reading the news, and keeping up with current events? If it does, please let me know how. I would enjoy reading counter arguments to my theory and experience thus far.
My guess is that most of you, like me, have always just assumed it was important, but never really stopped to consider the value it does or doesn't bring to your life.