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Original poster

Is it ok to just not check the news?

92 replies

Mulligan1789 · 14/10/2023 23:46

Like many, I am finding the images all over the news at the moment incredibly sad. I also find our government’s silence on the unravelling humanitarian situation in Gaza to be absolutely disgraceful.
Is it ok, morally, to just not check the news? I feel I am a worse mother and wife at the moment because I often check my phone for news, hoping against hope for some sort of let up in what is going on, and I am definitely more short tempered.
What do other people do - how can you read this news and not let it affect all of your life? Do you set limits? Advice please. I am prone to depression at times.

OP posts:
ASGIRC · 15/10/2023 08:22

I only watch the news every so often.
The current Israel/Palestine situation has me so disstressed, i cant even check Twitter.
It is absolutely fine to shut it all off.

TheYearOfSmallThings · 15/10/2023 08:23

I am just checking in once a day ATM. I feel distress for both sides but I can also see both sides doing things that horrify me, and there is literally nothing I can think or say about the situation that is not apparently islamophobic or antisemitic or often both (although I believe I am neither). I would not be achieving anything for anyone by doing more than being aware what is happening.

happylittlesloth · 15/10/2023 08:23

Of course it is

ShellySarah · 15/10/2023 08:25

There is nothing any of us can do about it and I have bigger things to worry me. Terminally ill parent, demanding job, etc etc

Just don't read it.

qwerty123454 · 15/10/2023 08:27

I stopped reading, watching and listening to the news about 6-12 months after Covid first hit (3 years ago?)

If the radio is on and the news comes on I switch it off for five minutes

I've been blissfully unaware of a lot of things that are going on in the world and it's great

I've had enough of the negativity and scaremongering news outlets spew out

Try it!

itsmyp4rty · 15/10/2023 08:28

I rarely watch the news, it's always got so many awful stories and people in really harrowing circumstances that can't do anything about it. Instead every morning I just check out the headlines on the front page of the bbc website. It gives me an overview of what's going on without giving too much detail or distress. I can then choose what to click through on. But it sounds like that is too much for you at the moment so just step away, you knowing or not knowing what is going on won't change anything apart from make you feel a little better. Prioritise your mental health.

rocknrollaa · 15/10/2023 08:29

There is so much graphic imagery on the news these days and you can really go down a rabbit hole of upsetting yourself to no avail.

I think it's important to be informed so I will stay up to date - usually with articles rather than videos. I can imagine things well enough by reading about them and don't feel I need to see the actual trauma of people being killed etc.

Some news outlets like the Daily Mail are pretty awful and appalling with the graphic scenes they show. I suppose it can have its place but I do question if it's necessary for so many people to see so much awful footage.

EasterIssland · 15/10/2023 08:31

You have to do what is alright for your mh. Think many of us took breaks for news during the Covid season otherwise it’d have spiralled into a what if that would have not benefited anyone

Nothankyou22 · 15/10/2023 08:32

I’ve never watched it, obviously I hear what’s going on via socials but I’m not oblivious to the fact there’s bad stuff happening all over the world.

Doingmybest12 · 15/10/2023 08:34

I think it is important to have some understanding of what is happening in the UK and across the world. But that's not the same as consuming endless news reports in the era of 24 hour news. You can control how much you access this and how.

IDidntKnowMyOwnStrength · 15/10/2023 08:38

I haven't watched the news for years, it is a fear mongering machine.
Much better to see the other side of life such as Green Renaissance on youtube, plus real life people and animal rescues where faith is restored in human nature.

Cottagecheeseisnotcheese · 15/10/2023 08:40

I check news once a day in the morning and I read it watch. Watching news before sleeping is bad for two reasons the first is whether the news is good or bad it stops you slowing down towards a sleep cycle and reactivates thinking and brain into daytime mode. The second is that hearing about wars and death is never going to be conducive to a good calm sleep. News was generally swapped in the morning whether at the market place the water well or more recently as commuting. Wake up eat find out what has been happening get on with your work go home relax then sleep. It's ok not to listen. While logically we know the 300 deaths at 9am is the same 300 deaths reported at 11am & 2pm etc somehow our brains hearing the same figure 3 times are at 900 and it appears worse, this tactic worked well in COVID.

Janinejones · 15/10/2023 08:50

As an adult with teen children one needs to know or be aware of what is going on in the world.
Hearing it on radio keeps me informed and removes many of the dramatic aspects.

SlightlygrumpyBettyswaitress · 15/10/2023 08:54

I never used to understand how people could not watch the news....
Then covid happened. And I stopped almost completely. I listen to the news on the radio once a day/have a quick look on the bbc. That's enough for me.

43ontherocksporfavor · 15/10/2023 08:59

We don’t buy newspapers. I do try to catch one news bulletin on tv a day. I used to have The Guardian app until very recently when they wanted to charge me so now I’m in a newsfeed void and it’s been quite nice. If there’s is something I want to find out more about I can access it but it stops those relentless headlines that are so depressing and I’m not talking about Gaza, it’s the ‘Britain is failing headlines.’ I have two young adult DC and I don’t want to read how crap their future is in this country day after day. So now I don’t!

Xyyxxx · 15/10/2023 09:04

I haven't read a newspaper or watched the news in 40 years. Anything important filters through to me in other ways.

twobluechickens · 15/10/2023 09:09

I neither watch nor listen to the news any more. I read bits and bobs each week. This started when Russia invaded Ukraine and I spent weeks not sleeping, terrified that WW3 was about to start.

I come from a family who watch all the news programmes, and then fill in the gaps with rolling news channels and YouTube analysts/extra coverage. It does my head in because what's the point? They don't do anything with this information, just switch over to the next news programme. It makes me not want to spend time with them.

I agree with a PP who said that we didn't know about this stuff until fairly recently, and we just got on with our lives without seeing/hearing these harrowing stories in such horrifying detail. It's a modern construct borne of modern communication methods and I would argue that stepping back from news consumption (because that's what it is) is a good thing.

SallyWD · 15/10/2023 09:16

I often don't watch it when there is very upsetting news. I can't watch it it the moment and I don't watch it when there is a high profile child abuse news items. My reasoning is that the images get stuck in my head and stop me from sleeping. The fact is I can do nothing to change the situation.
Despite avoiding the news I still know exactly what's going on from social media etc. Even if I scroll past quickly I manage to absorb the headlines so I know what happened in Israel this week and I know what's happening in Gaza. However, I don't want to see the images (some have stuck in my mind but I'm avoiding others).

cheezncrackers · 15/10/2023 09:19

I've stopped watching it too OP. It's all utterly depressing and I can't do anything about the horrible wars in Ukraine or Israel/Palestine so I'd rather not hear about the latest round of horrors and atrocities. There is no law that says you have to watch or be informed about what's going on, so I've stopped watching/listening. It's not that I don't care (I do), but me feeling gloomy and upset about it all helps no one.

MotherofPearl · 15/10/2023 09:26

Mulligan1789 · 14/10/2023 23:55

Thank you - yes I guess it is a very recent thing, this constant news and live feeds etc. I guess it’s awful to feel so helpless. But a good point - best to focus on my own corner of the world.

Yes, I read Marina Hyde's column in the Guardian on Friday and she wrote 'you can only sweep your side of the street'. We can't control how the awful situation in Israel and Gaza unfolds, but we can control how we treat people in our own lives and communities.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 15/10/2023 09:30

QueenBitch666 · 15/10/2023 02:25

I've not watched the news in years. It's better for my MH. Definitely turn it off.

Ditto. Literally years, in my case. I credit my decent MH to that (especially during the pandemic). I can live without in-depth information about every war and atrocity and tense political situation, thanks.

Hbh17 · 15/10/2023 09:34

I stopped watching the news on TV at the start of the pandemic - not because it was upsetting, but because what had long been annoyingly dumbed down had also become hysterical nonsense. I don't miss it. I read a couple of broadsheet newspapers per day (online) and listen to Radio 4 news (usually at 6pm, which is a good half hour summary). I don't think I am too ill informed, and it means that I can avoid the irrelevant stuff and the "let's ask members of the public what they think" stuff, which is not news at all.

43ontherocksporfavor · 15/10/2023 09:37

We need facts but some details on TV and radio are so unnecessary. For example, to describe a murder as ‘ a woman was bludgeoned to death’ is so unnecessary for the average listener with kids in the car. Why not just say murdered, which is awful enough. I used to turn the radio off in the hour when my DC were small.

MyCircumference · 15/10/2023 09:39

yes, last week, instead of radio 4 on the drive to work, i reverted to radio 2!

MyCircumference · 15/10/2023 09:41

back in february 2020 i had breaking news on my phone,
it gave me panic
i have now turned it off, so unnecessary

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