God help us all

Wise.

I must say I borrowed someone my TV, the last thing I watched being the Queens funeral and I'm shocked by how much I haven't missed it.

I do also think the TV soaps are toxic. I haven't watched any UK ones for nearly 20 years. When I catch them at a relative's house there is always a negative storyline. When I gave them up it was a bit hard initially, but after a while it was easy. I find them a chore to have to watch now.

The best advice I read was not to spread yourself thin in terms of caring and effort. Pick the one thing you can focus on, say climate change, and put your time, money, effort, doomscrolling, lifestyle changes towards that. Tune out all the other awful news and events: someone else will pick one of those as their one thing. This way you’re not overwhelmed (“how can I help Ukraine and Syria and the climate and refugees and and and and”), you’re not dipping in and out of causes then forgetting them, you can give £25 to one cause rather than £1 to 25 causes, you’re not going to get completely tapped out and emotionally spent so you end up doing nothing, etc.

Do all of the above, to help yourselves, limit social media and news etc as we all deserve to have wellbeing in our lives.

I tend to disagree with those who say we cannot do anything about somethings, we can actually. We have a vote, we have democracy where we can air our views and make our point, we can join ( peaceful) protest groups, pressure groups etc and we can show empathy to those who are less fortunate and struggling, I’m going to try to do this too.

Wow this is gorgeous

Limit the news - I have a quick look every day as dont want to turn a blind eye or be unaware of world events. Other than that, I really do try and enjoy life every day. We’re here for such a short time (im an atheist so perhaps that helps as I really believe the end is the end). Concentrate on enjoying time with the people you love, doing the things you love and there will always be bad things out there (we live in a much safer time than people did centuries ago).

No I don't think it's just about bad news being reported more.

Objectively I can't do the things we did in the 70's anymore, like leave my kids outside to roam and let them whittle wood with a pocket knife - which me and my brother did.

Knife crime epidemic in my area is a real observable change. Someone was stabbed to death in the local park this year and again in the local green last month, both a 5 minute walking distance away. Can't leave my doors open or key under the mat like my mum used to in the past for fear of burglary.

New neighbours all the time. Shops changing and closing every 5 minutes. No continuity.

Family breakdowns are an observable thing, likewise housing instability and unaffordability, environmental degradation and family breakdowns are all observable.

Saying it's just because things are reported more ,is sort of burying the head in the soil. Things are objectively worse along certain metrics. Primarily the ones that give people meaning.

Leaving aside belief in God etc. I ditched radio and TV news during Covid and it was the best decision I have ever made.

I no longer SEE things that are horrible and unbelievable. I no longer listen to endless drivel, analysis, repeat reporting, rolling news, constant doom and gloom.

I do keep up with the latest news though, that's kind of natural, so I catch the headlines every day online, and if there is anything of interest to me I will follow it up. But on a day to day basis most stuff passes me right by. I know that might sound cold hearted, but there is nothing I can do personally about most of it, and awful things have been happening since the dawn of time.

I just focus on my immediate family and circle now. The only social media I use is here and if it is considered SM - YouTube. I am feeling far more calm and settled as a result.

*can’t

Oh relax and just enjoy your life. Stop worrying about things you can change and trying to depress everyone else.

I think they have always happened we just see it more

This. Good news doesn't sell. Or generate clicks.

I don't blame Heavenly Father for the fact that this world is sometimes shitty. Humans have free will, sadly some people choose to do heinous things. And we live on a world where there's natural disasters and diseases, those things are part of living. I think people are more self obsessed than they used to be, capitalism has a lot to answer for, as does the way we're effecting the planet.

... if you are an atheist I apologize.

I don't think you should feel the need to apologise. I feel worse for people who believe in a god and think that god is doing this to them.

Great post. I entirely agree.

Yes, the sea temperature in the Florida Keys hit that of a hot tub yesterday. Live in active hope and faith, it is what we have

I don't think chldren and teens are necessarily aware of all the awful stuff - I am hoping they just stick to funny stuff on tiktok and following their favourite influencers.
As a teen I didn't really have a clue though lived through the 3 day week, lights on / off times due to strikes. I wasn't that interested, more interested in my friends /boyfriends.

My GPs lived through two world wars (and he fought in one) and my DPs lived through a world war (and he fought in one). So the past wasn't really rosy.

I do know people without tvs and also one with no tv or internet.

It's the incessant 'news' and the incessant arguing. We've always had combative politics but in the past you probably followed issues you were interested in and didn't hear much about the rest. Having to fill 24/7 newscasts, daily quizzing of MPs and anyone who wants an argument, and headlines and videos of anything gory, scary or gruesome is baaaaaad.

This

Well it's a bit like the Freedom From/Freedom To argument.

Yes there are things about modern life (antibiotics anyone?) that make living now preferable. But there are also things - increasing family breakdown, increasing lack of social contact, breakdown in community, globalisation, the threat of nuclear weapons, increased inflation to wages, increased bureaucracy, lack of spiritual leadership, increased expectations that make living life daily stressful.

I've read stories of people living a hundred years or so years ago in certain parts of America and UK say no income tax, very little material possessions but house no matter how humble belonged to them, land rights easier to obtain, didn't need a degree to get a job to live. Living expenses to inflation lower. Toilet might have outside the house, there may have been no running water but there's community, children relatively free to roam.

I grew up in the 70s in a house without central heating, yet I don't believe my children have had a better childhood than I did. I think mine was better (objectively speaking and taking out the abusive family crap)

It's a good rubric to use. I personally do not think Millennials or Gen Z have had and are necessarily having a better life than the 2 or 3 generations before them.

So ultimately life got better to a point. But now it's questionable if that upward trajectory is continuing along the things that give people a real sense of meaning.

I always imagine what it would've been like if the average British person in the middle ages knew about all the things that were happening around the globe, instead of only knowing what happened in their village or close region. Imagine if they knew about the details of all the ultraviolent wars, invasions, rapes, pillages, human sacrifices, cannibalism, drownings, beheadings, slavery, child exploitation, and starvation, not to mention deaths by wild animal and ordinary infections and everyday diseases, that were going on everywhere all the time. They'd have felt terrible about the world, probably worse than we do. We actually live in the very best of times for most humans.

I want to 'like' so many of these posts. I feel exactly the same. I only look at MN and Instagram but even then it affects my mood.

Exposure to dark events is a definite mood changer. We are open to so much negativity, it's bound to affect us.

Our poor children though. I often feel that we have handed them a loaded gun by allowing them access to this internet world.

Hope you're ok OP

Phone addiction makes everything worse, and we're all addicted. Very sad when you think about it deeply enough. Our lives have become centered around these little devices that ultimately do not bring us joy or help us to live full lives.
I'm terrified of getting to the end of my life, and realising just how much of it I have spent looking at my phone. Just 2 hours a day is a month per year 😳

I am trying to not watch or read the news, and instead focus on my little family and build a happy little bubble. They say ignorance is bliss, but sometimes it's necessary.

I am going to try this. I've had some terrible things happen to me this last seven years and I feel overwhelmed. Thanks for posting this@Redbrickrebel

I think it would do all of us no harm to disconnect from our phones for a day a week at least. I'm addicted to mine and it doesn't make me happy.

I used to think not watching news and limiting social media was an immature, head in the sand approach.

However when I got completely overwhelmed with life and the state of the world 18 months ago, I tried it as a last resort.

It really, really works! I stopped looking at and listening to the news. I just looked at sports stuff and watched 'Newsround' with my daughter in the mornings at the most.

I filtered out loads of words on Twitter, but then came off completely. Same with Facebook.

My 'scrolling' hit came from readinfg 'Good News Network' and similar sites. I watched old comedy on YouTube.

It really re trains your mind and the daily horrors simply stop being on your mind. It's so simple, but so effective.

That sounds blissful @ErniesGhostlyGoldTops.