I am addicted to Daily Mail - do I need help?

[CurvyBirdy]

I know I probably should not be, but I get all my news from the Daily Mail, I am starting to worry that all my chit-chat is based on what I read... try as I might I cannot get myself onto a more dignified news source.

But is it wrong to have to pad out all your social banter with Meghan Markle, Wagatha Christie and Johnny Depp stories?

Ha, ha I love the sidebar of shame. I add the the BBC news in to the mix.

Oh yes, OP. But I too am guilty.

haha, lock me up!

It isn't that it is shallow, the issue is it is really, really nasty.

I confess.....on behalf of a friend.

I don't like Mail Online's main news but can easily waste time on the Showbiz section. That is even though my reaction to many of their showbiz headlines is 'Who even CARES about what [whichever Reality personality] is to up??". A guilty pleasure or 'love to hate' thing?

Haha - I love it especially during the night when I love reading it with no children awake.

Not as dull as bbc - yawn

I used to use Daily Mail as a quick summary of what’s “current” in the UK. I never ever read the actual article, as they tend to be extremely repetitive and poorly written, ripe with spelling mistake and so stingy with sources and data.

Ever since the titles became so extremely contrived and politically biased I stopped visiting the site altogether.
Incidentally I noticed I am must happier for it. I am much better for not exposing myself to some gruesome rape/murdered/assault/traumatised children/war with vivid scandalous titles designed as click baits.

Now I read the Economists which mentions everything worth knowing and, crucially, why and how.

Well surely one point in favour of the Daily Mail is that they seem to be quick off the mark with their stories, even if the headlines can be a bit lurid

But is it wrong to have to pad out all your social banter with Meghan Markle, Wagatha Christie and Johnny Depp stories?

on the contrary. I expect that your social banterees (I hope that is a word) are delighted that you are injecting a bit of fun into the conversation and not boring on about yawny stuff.

It's awful but I do read the odd thing on there occasionally if it comes up in my Google feed. I'm sure alot of it is made up anyway for clicbait, fear mongering & the spellings/grammar and celeb descriptions are laughable. The papped photo stuff is from Backgrid & I keep seeing weird photoshopped pics of Madonna looking like she has a big surreal alien cut out head stuck on her body.

It is fine as long as it is not your only source of news/opinion/current affairs

Sounds like I am going to have to take the plunge and broaden out me reading, the Sun possibly😅

I read the daily mail online edition. Don't read it cover to cover but I love the crossword puzzles. Only buy paper copy on a Saturday for the TV

mag.

It's the comments section that I am addicted to reading.

It's mumsnetters dirty shame....it's endlessly quoted more than anything else! Always with the "sorry it's the fail" apologizing to other avid readers! The great conundrum! I always ready the mail..

It's a magazine but obviously read around if I want deeper information.

I generally agree that it's fine in small doses as long as you read other news sources. I avoid the site completely as 1. There's so much on there it can waste literally hours of time. 2. It's pure clickbait and pushes extreme and exaggerated news stories. 3. I was worried that I was turning into a 'daily mail reader' I.e. basically intolerant because I would take the comments on as the general correct opinion. I don't miss it. It definitely doesn't improve your life. Mindless celeb gossip is just awful. There are so many better ways to spend your precious time. N.b. I have not managed to stop wasting time on mumsnet

It is trash but somewhat addictive. Absolutely obsessed by the royals and house prices. And a lot is fake news I suspect. Often riddled with spelling and grammatical errors and not factually correct.

I never read tabloids before lockdown and now I'm hooked! Solidarity op!!!

😉

I stopped looking at it completely ( block if you want to go cold turkey) as i found the alarmist/ extreme/ violent/ voyeuristic content and imagery was not making me feel good. I'@m much happier not being exposed to all that - the reduction in celeb gossip is a very small price to pay. It's not a healthy way to get info. It will be hard to break the habit but give it some thought. They say not reported and the stuff it reports isn't normal or healthy.

Every morning on my phone! I read all the papers that way……

Yes. It's nasty and misogynistic, and horrendously biased politically. Even if you only read the gossip, you're supporting the newspaper to continue to be unkind about women and to spout their nonsense.

I use it as a news aggregator- they nick so many stories from elsewhere that if I'm interested in the sound of something on the DM then I'll google for the original source (ie the one that put all the effort in) and read it there.

Often it's quite different.

There's nothing wrong with enjoying a bit of gossip on a tabloid.

But it's important that you're aware that's all it is, and that a lot of stuff on there is inflated and over-hyped, it's not really news, it's more entertainment. The Daily Mail is more akin to looking on Mumsnet than reading the news.

I also think the language and distortion they use in tabloids to get readers can really affect the way that you see the world and current events.

You don't have to 'replace' it but how about for every half hour you spend on there, try spending 15-30 mins on something like the Independent/ BBC/Guardian/Times/Telegraph etc. just to get something a bit more factual (I know all of these sources also have their issues but I think they are better than the Daily Mail).

It's really important to be informed, especially at the moment with so much going on in the world. Information really is power.