I recently spent a couple of days with an dear friend of mine who seemed unusually dour this time around.
He told me how angry he was about the state of the world, and despondent about the future we’re leaving for our kids etc etc – you get the drift.
I asked him what made him feel like that and he said, don’t you watch The News?
I said, no, of course not. Why would I?
He said, well don’t you care what’s going on in the world?
Of course, I answered, but watching The News is a terrible way to find that out.
Here’s what The News is not, particularly:
- Informative
- Balanced
- Useful
The single, sole purpose of news channels is to create content that makes you want to watch more.
It’s the broadcast equivalent of Big Pharma.
The only useful viewer/listener is an addicted one.
Bad news, particularly disastrous, tragic or scary news triggers a fear response in us and releases cortisol in our bodies which, although it creates stress and negative emotions, leaves us wanting more.
The rolling news networks realised this at the dawn of the digital age and will feed your addiction 24/7 if you allow them.
The side effects of cortisol? Paranoia, stress, depression, insomnia and other chronic health problems.
For those of us for whom at least a modicum of motivation and creativity is useful to our daily lives, we shouldn’t let an addiction to The News divert us from our great quest.
In case you didn’t know, the world we live in is the safest and calmest it’s ever been.
Now there’s news for you.
Jonny