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Original poster

Envious of people who are oblivious to world events

26 replies

Notcontent · 28/02/2022 12:37

Only recently I was saying on another thread how important it is for people to know about what is happening around them, if not internationally then at least domestically - so they know about and understand things like energy price rises, internet scams, etc.

I still stand by that view but right now I wish I was in my own little bubble and didn’t feel the incredible anxiety enveloping me. There was someone on a thread today saying they didn’t even know anything about nuclear weapons. I wish that was me right now!

OP posts:
CoastalWave · 28/02/2022 12:41

Stop watching the news then. Most of it is propaganda - what THEY want you know.

I'm oblivious to it, out of choice. For exactly the reason you state - anxiety. Really not going to help my anxiety watching about Ukraine.

There are bloody awful things going on in the world daily that news chooses not to tell you about (child rape and sacrifice for eg) - equally horrifying and you wouldn't sleep at night for thinking about it.

ItWasntMyFault · 28/02/2022 12:43

I am aware of what is happening but I try not to worry and dwell on something I can't change as there is no point.

itsnotdeep · 28/02/2022 12:45

No one's completely oblivious. We just have different ways of dealing with it.

theemmadilemma · 28/02/2022 12:49

I used to read the news every day. During the pandemic I stopped, and stopped watching regular tv. It was too overwhelming and constant.

I've not really gone back to being as informed as I was, if something comes up on my radar I need to know more about I'll look into it.

Coriandersucks · 28/02/2022 12:51

I’m fairly oblivious by choice. I stopped reading the news a few years ago after brexit, then trump, as I just lost all faith in everything and felt like I had no control over what goes on in the world. So I instead focus only on what’s going on locally within my community that has an immediate impact on my family and others I care about. It felt like a huge weight was lifted and I don’t intend to go back to scouring the headlines every day and having sleepless nights over the state of the world. What does it achieve? I keep an eye on what’s going on with big news but I don’t let it take over my life like I used to.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 28/02/2022 12:54

Not being anxious about current events doesn't mean being oblivious to them. I know what's going on but there's precisely nothing I can do about it so I don't see the point in stressing.

BirdOnTheWire · 28/02/2022 12:56

I'm not oblivious but I am not as panicked as I would have been in my 20s.

I grew up during the Cold war. We were convinced there would be nuclear war and annihilation at some point in the 1970s. I decided not to have children because of this though I changed my mind in the mid 90s.
I went on holiday lots to Yugoslavia in the 80s. The Bosnian war was horrific. People who go on holidays to Croatia etc seem oblivious to the history. I would never visit one of those countries again.
There was a terrifying moment in January 1991 when Iraq started bombing Israel and I feared they might respond with nuclear weapons.

I never forgot how unspeakably evil some people can be so none of this surprises me but it's by no means the first time since WWII that we have faced the fear of war.

newbiename · 28/02/2022 13:03

I think it's a bit embarrassing not to have any idea what's going on in the world and at home.

Sparklingbrook · 28/02/2022 13:05

@Waxonwaxoff0

Not being anxious about current events doesn't mean being oblivious to them. I know what's going on but there's precisely nothing I can do about it so I don't see the point in stressing.
That’s where I am with it. Just because people don’t want to endlessly discuss it doesn’t mean oblivious.
Elphame · 28/02/2022 13:11

Not watching the news and avoiding the Daily Mail works for me.

There is nothing I can do about world affairs and I don't want to be manipulated into being worried sick about things I can do nothing about. At least long ago they deliberately ended the main news broadcast with an upbeat and heart-warming news story.

It's really not surprising that we have a mental health crisis in this country.

SometimesIwalksideways · 28/02/2022 13:12

Same here. What's the point of knowing what's going on as we can't do anything ,I think. (Before anyone shouts at me for being selfish, I am very anxious and have mental health problems -made myself ill during Iraq/Kosovo etc). )

dworky · 28/02/2022 13:14

How do you think we're getting increasingly useless, inappropriate Governments?

Creeeper · 28/02/2022 13:16

@Waxonwaxoff0

Not being anxious about current events doesn't mean being oblivious to them. I know what's going on but there's precisely nothing I can do about it so I don't see the point in stressing.
I completely agree with this

Some of the threads on here are OTT. The levels of panic, distress and hysteria are not normal.

Gilly12345 · 28/02/2022 13:18

Most of us watch the news/read newspapers and know what is going on in the world but don’t want to talk/think about it all the time.

Control the controlable.

saraclara · 28/02/2022 13:23

Since Covid, I've avoided the news. I virtually never watch it on YV, and just access print media when I feel I can face it.

It's taken me many many years to realise that I don't have to watch the news. I'm reminded of a friend who says he has to look out of the plane window at all times, as he's convinced himself that he has some kind of control over it staying in the air. He knows it's mad, of course. And I realised that when something like the situation in Ukraine is happening, my watching the news, me knowing all the detail, doesn't help reslove it, and only messes with my mental health.

I'm not ill-informed, but I choose when and how often to access news. I'm one of the people who's asked for a Ukraine branch on here rather than constantly coming across OPs on chat branches. That's not because I don't care about it or don't think it's vastly important. I've just learned that keeping as much control as I can about when I'm faced with things I can't do anything about, is the way to stay mentally healthy. So I don't want to see panicky thread titles everywhere.

Cheesecakeandwineinasuitcase · 28/02/2022 13:23

I’m on my lunch break at work at the moment and have just come back from a weeks annual leave. No one at work has mentioned it and no one appears worried. I barely slept last night and yesterday ended up crying in front of the children. I’m literally terrified.

smorgasbords · 28/02/2022 13:24

I think it’s not as easy as saying “just stop watching the news” - I think the kind of this OP is talking about is information and knowledge gained from certain levels of general education/different intelligence levels and interest in the world. I could barely watch the news but I have an MA in Russian Studies so quite a specialist knowledge of a lot of the issues currently. I also have a fairly comprehensive understanding of nuclear weapons, so I could never go back to not knowing anything about them, if you see what I mean? I can do my best to not engage with too much constant 24-hour news, but I still know and understand what’s happening in the world and have enough info for it to worry/upset me.

RoastedFerret · 28/02/2022 13:31

@Waxonwaxoff0

Not being anxious about current events doesn't mean being oblivious to them. I know what's going on but there's precisely nothing I can do about it so I don't see the point in stressing.
Same as this. I'd rather be this way than like some of the people posting on here that are crying and terrified. I've donated money and supplies for refugees in Poland and that's about all I can do for now.
frankiefirstyear · 28/02/2022 13:32

I stopped watching the news years ago. On occasion i go to hospital/dentist where the tv is on the news etc but I usually have my ear buds in, listening to an audiobook or music. My friends sometimes discuss world events but I'd class myself and pretty much oblivious. I might know for example there's currently something negative is going on in Ukraine but that's about all I can say about it in all honesty. I don't like knowing things I can do nothing about so don't want it to go on my radar. If something peaks my interest then I will seek out information about it but that's rare.

Moonface123 · 28/02/2022 13:33

You can' t help but know what is going on in the world as there are always plenty of people constantly going on about it. I don' t pay much attention to the news but unless you live very remote there's no escape from it. Even on here its like a second version of the news.
l tend not to view life through media headlines, its much healthier.

MrsJBaptiste · 28/02/2022 13:36

@ItWasntMyFault

I am aware of what is happening but I try not to worry and dwell on something I can't change as there is no point.
^ Exactly this.

I take this stance in most aspects of life - don't worry about things you can't do anything about (Brexit, Covid, War, etc.)

It doesn't make me oblivious (or lacking in common sense!) it just means I'm not anxious about these things. There are enough other things in life that I do worry about - aging parents, teenage kids, work, money...

Oblomov22 · 28/02/2022 13:41

I like pp's description - It wasnt my fault. Why worry, what good is that going to do. I am totally aware. But this chronic anxiety that is prevalent on MN pisses me off massively. Completely pointless.

FOJN · 28/02/2022 13:56

I'm completely aware of what's happening in the world but I'm not at all anxious because as a PP pointed out there is nothing I can do to change things so why waste time worrying about it. I also worked in ICU for many years and looked after patients all the time who had been living perfectly ordinary lives one minute and were clinging to life by a thread the next. If I'd allowed that to affect me I'd never leave the house.

CommonPrimrose · 28/02/2022 14:30

Op I used to pride myself in my knowledge of world affairs.
Now I avoid the news. I watched last night thinking I was doing better but it was a mistake.
I think for this next rough period of my life I'll be actively avoiding news.
Pp is right: they did used to end the news with a positive piece.

StiffyBing · 28/02/2022 15:54

My sister is in a constant state of blissful ignorance. I'm not sure she could name a single member of the cabinet.