Quote: (04-02-2014 04:40 AM)funkyzeit Wrote:
Do you want to be the guy who approach a cute political science girl in 2017 thinking Obama is still your president because you don't read news since 2014?
Imagine now what would happen if you stopped with all printed, online and tv news. You'll basically be the guy living under the rock.
I think that's the illusion OP is referring to. In actual fact, nothing happens, you only *imagine* this would happen. In reality, it's not like you suddenly acquire brain damage when you stop reading the news. You still know what's up, and any important and breaking news, you would find out anyway. Whether you want to or not. Your friends/family, random flier you see on the subway, random snippet you happen to see on a tv in a sports bar, etc, etc.
Some counter-arguments might be:
-what about something like bitcoin? Perhaps because you'd never heard of it via the news early you could potentially miss out on an opportunity. Not sure if it's a good argument though (I had been following the news closely, but I still missed the boat on bitcoin). But perhaps a tech news source/forum might be in order.
-what if I want to donate money/do some activism based on what happens in the world. Again though, if you are serious about it, it probably makes more sense to follow some special source for that or a forum.
-what if I just enjoy reading up on the news. It gives value to me in and of itself, in a way a TV show might, even if neither actually bring any other value in my life. In which case, for a person like that I think it's a fair argument.
Suppose you are up early in the morning and considering going on a bit of a news binge. A useful question to ask yourself beforehand might be this:
Will reading the news this morning have ANY impact on the things I need to get done today?
The answer for almost all people is almost certainly no. While it will take up your time, and likely fill you with negativity and scatter your thoughts even after you stop reading. So if you don't have a good reason to read the news, you are probably better served with getting on with your tasks for the day.
I have deliberately given up the news at least twice in the past for months at a time, and nothing bad happened. Curiosity got the best of me though, and I went back to it.