How to not get angry at the news

[Fishmanpa]

How to not get angry at the news

Don't watch or read things that piss you off Think about it. If you don't like a certain food do you eat it? If you don't like a style of clothing, do you wear it? If you don't like a TV show, do you watch it? It really is that simple.
FMP

[Lencoboy]

How to not get angry at the news

Don't watch or read things that piss you off Think about it. If you don't like a certain food do you eat it? If you don't like a style of clothing, do you wear it? If you don't like a TV show, do you watch it? It really is that simple.
FMP

But it's not always as simple as 'just don't watch it or look at it'.

Especially those who have online homepages like Microsoft Edge by default which I personally think is a trap for roping people into clicking on their newsfeed articles when they may be going online for completely different reasons. It feels like social engineering to me and I personally find Microsoft Edge a liability for helping to fuel certain people's mental health crises further by forcing random news articles into their faces every time they log online (with Microsoft Edge as the default homepage).

Sadly some people (not me) can't resist the temptation to click and also probably can't be bothered or lack the knowledge/skills to try pursuing alternative homepages.

[Fishmanpa]

But it's not always as simple as 'just don't watch it or look at it'.

Especially those who have online homepages like Microsoft Edge by default which I personally think is a trap for roping people into clicking on their newsfeed articles when they may be going online for completely different reasons. It feels like social engineering to me and I personally find Microsoft Edge a liability for helping to fuel certain people's mental health crises further by forcing random news articles into their faces every time they log online (with Microsoft Edge as the default homepage).

Sadly some people (not me) can't resist the temptation to click and also probably can't be bothered or lack the knowledge/skills to try pursuing alternative homepages.

I hear you Lencoboy but still, it is a cognizant choice. You are aware of what triggers you and I get that your mental health can play a role in your behaviors but it still is a conscious choice. It comes down to exercising your willpower and not click Say 'NO' to the dragon. It's really no different than what an addict must do to move on and heal and the parallels of addiction behavior and HA and general anxiety behaviors are strikingly similar and equally as harmful. If you can learn to feed him, you can also learn to starve him

[Lencoboy]

I hear you Lencoboy but still, it is a cognizant choice. You are aware of what triggers you and I get that your mental health can play a role in your behaviors but it still is a conscious choice. It comes down to exercising your willpower and not click Say 'NO' to the dragon. It's really no different than what an addict must do to move on and heal and the parallels of addiction behavior and HA and general anxiety behaviors are strikingly similar and equally as harmful. If you can learn to feed him, you can also learn to starve him

OK OK.

[pulisa]

The question is...Do you actually want to stop clicking or is it morbid fascination which keeps you fixated on the news? You are not being "forced" to look at random news articles.
It's an ingrained behaviour.

[Lencoboy]

The question is...Do you actually want to stop clicking or is it morbid fascination which keeps you fixated on the news? You are not being "forced" to look at random news articles.
It's an ingrained behaviour.

It's not just me I'm concerned about, it's lots of others worldwide too, especially those who might be less able than I am.

Little wonder that mental health for many people the world over is up the creek these days, especially when they innocuously log online and visually assaulted with OMG news stuff (e.g, 'Covid variant X is going to wipe us all out in a matter of weeks', 'Putin and Co are going to blow us all to kingdom come in a matter of days', etc), especially if it's exaggerated or even full-on fake news.

But I'm done with this thread now.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Change the homepage and Edge won't give you that big page of news articles. Just point it at Google as most people do.

There will always be something in life that is annoying. If not, you're in the Matrix

[MyNameIsTerry]

The biggest flaw (imo) is that for electoral democracy to work, it assumes an informed and collected electorate. Not a moronic rabble of tik tok addicts who believe a Joe Rogan podcast is a citable source of facts.

Well we used to have a system of only the educated run society but I doubt we would like the Reece-Moggs of the world deciding how everything works.

Neither a technocracy.

We could try teaching some awareness in schools but you know it's open to personal interests like government or activist meddling. Who regulates what they are taught? Can the regulator be trusted to keep bias at bay?

[pulisa]

It's not just me I'm concerned about, it's lots of others worldwide too, especially those who might be less able than I am.

Little wonder that mental health for many people the world over is up the creek these days, especially when they innocuously log online and visually assaulted with OMG news stuff (e.g, 'Covid variant X is going to wipe us all out in a matter of weeks', 'Putin and Co are going to blow us all to kingdom come in a matter of days', etc), especially if it's exaggerated or even full-on fake news.

But I'm done with this thread now.

I get that you've put your mental shutters down now on this topic but people aren't being "visually assaulted" with sensationalised news. We know that this is what the media does. It's predictable but it's up to the individual as to whether he/she chooses to get sucked in..or not. It's not compulsory.

[BlueIris]

You're right, Pulisa. I'm online for large chunks of my life, I keep up with the news but somehow I never find myself "assaulted" by it. If I know something will upset me, I avoid it.