"Oh I never watch the news"

[oklumberjack]

Ok, I feeling really judgemental about this I'll admit, but here goes.

I went out for dinner this week with some school mum's from the primary my dd has just left. These women are acquaintances of mine. Nice women, friendly but I don't consider them my closest friends.

Over the course of lunch, we were discussing our summer etc. I mentioned the Olympics and something about Theresa May. They all looked blankly at me. All 5 of them said they hadn't seen any Olympics and had no idea how we'd done. 3 of them had not even heard of Theresa May. The conversation then got on to how they never watch the news, or read a newspaper or even access it online. As soon as news comes on they turn over. I was shocked. I kept very quiet that I'm a Radio 4 and 5live listener, avid Daily Politics watcher and rather enjoyed watching the cycling,rowing and diving at the Olympics on the BBC.

However they could tell me all about Love Island, Big Brother and TOWIE which is where the conversation went next. I felt really out of place. They seemed to think that being interested in the news made you some kind of snob.

Ok, so we're out of step in what we like. We probably won't hang out much in the future, however please tell me I'm not really unusual in checking in with the news at least twice a day!

It does seem odd to me for an adult to be completely uninterested and keep themselves deliberately uninformed about current events. Especially something like who the current prime minister in your country is.

I don't usually watch the news, unless I know something big is happening (watched it a lot more than usual around the EI referendum), as usually when the TV's on I'm catching up on stuff I've recorded.

But I listen to the radio in the car, I read the front pages of the newspapers when I pass them in the shops, I've liked various news / politics pages on FB etc so news items pop up when I'm on social media, I usually check headlines on online news outlets a few times a week.

So while I'm not completely up to speed with it all, I do at least have a general idea of what's going on out there.

I just don't like watching the news. I don't think that's particularly unusual or wrong. You can know who the PM is and follow current events without watching Daily Politics and listening to Radio 4

Soubriquet did you really think it was Gordon Brown???

gillybeanz, I agree, well said.

Yes I did. Oh well

it's not like we can do anything about most of the stories we see or hear

There's a difference between not wanting to do anything and not being able to.

Everyone has the ability to make a difference - in big and small ways. All it takes is motivation.

I accept that not everyone is willing to make the effort to do so. I suspect that, for some, avoiding mainstream news is a way of assuaging the guilt of not doing anything.

Gillybeanz, I'm not bothered by their attitude. They can engage with whatever they like. I was making a comment on it, albeit feeling a bit surprised.

To a pp, yes it's a state school.

Complacency about current affairs is what has led to the current US debacle, and we'll all be affected by that because they're both more-of-the-same war hawks.

Obviously, American complacency rather than British but it seems to be a kind of contagion.

I access the news online. I struggle to hold conversations with people who know little about current affairs.

It's all "news speak" now anyway, we are told what gov want us to be told in a way they want us to.

That's a pretty common alibi for 'I can't be bothered'. It's also a bit contradictory that you're happy to hear someone else's secondhand account of 'major news' on social media or at school, but think that what you hear on the news is Big Brother-style government bias therefore it's cleverer to ignore it? Shouldn't you then be making sure to get your news from a variety of sources to remove bias?

I find it strange that you are bothered by other people's choices, maybe they are involved in looking after themselves and family and don't have time, energy or interest in titillation and sensationalism.

Why would a major news story like Brexit and how it is actually going to happen be 'titillation and sensationalism'? And why assume it has nothing to do with people's families? Can you really not make the link between, say, Brexit and the world your children are growing up into, quite apart from potential ramifications for you?

I grew up the daughter of a news junkie. We'd have a broadsheet delivered every morning and a London evening newspaper every evening and news talk radio on. They would also watch the evening news but also watch the usual mainstream programmes. It was just normal to me to know what was going on in the wider world.

I do remember my best friend's house always seemed odd to me as they only had the Sun and not a single book in the house aside from her school reading book. I loved to read for pleasure (something that stayed into adulthood) but to her it was a chore. Is there a correlation between academic success and access to news, books, newspapers ? I think there probably is just though the habit of using a variety of sources for information it promotes processing and evaluating rather than just accepting a fact is fact because it's on the news/parents or friends say it etc.

I do think the current Joey Essex proud to be dumb fashion is a bit pathetic.

I genuinely didn't realise so many adult women took pride in never opening a paper or watching the news til mum and baby groups. I didn't work in an especially academic industry pre baby but no one proudly stated their ignorance of the wider world like these women . Do I think that is detrimental children, yes. Not in a snobbish way but in the same way you offer a child the widest range of foods so they learn to choose for themselves and broaden their palate by limiting what their brain is exposed to or setting a poor example with restrictive availability to books, media choices or just plain lack of interest you are denying your child learning opportunities.

At least there's one person who thought that Labour were still capable of being in government.

knowing Theresa May is PM, understanding Brexit or the refugee crisis is an interest in titillation and sensationalism

Classic, Gillybeanz, brilliant.

Are you trying to imply that they are stupid or something? I don't really get the premise of this thread?

My nephew works for the NHS. He said 'who is the prime minister?' is sometimes not the question to ask when trying to assess mental function and that a working knowledge of reality TV can be useful on those occasions.

He might have been joking but who knows? It doesn't matter when you're trying to find out whether someone has a brain injury.

I'm interested in current affairs and politics and also like reality TV. It doesn't bother me that other people don't share my interests and I don't think I'm better than them on that score alone.

Likewise, there are fellow news and politics junkies that I despise.

Years ago I used to watch the news, about three decades ago, and now I don't but I'm fully aware of what's happening. Not watching the news and all that doom and gloom, scare mongering, hate and violence etc has made me more relaxed and those spare minutes where I would've been watching get spent on my family, friends and pets because in this world, to me they're all that matter.

Interesting to notice a vague sense in the discussion that some people have reported an attitude that there's something a little bit dodgy about "knowing stuff". Seems to be an updated version of calling kids who came top of the class "swots" as if it were something to be ashamed of.

There is a long and ignoble history of anti-intellectualism in England (funny, if I had typed that 20 years ago, I would have said Britain ). There is also too much meta to go around to note that a lot of people are unaware of this.

Growing up, there was a nasty undercurrent of racism to anti-intellectualism.

Middleoftheroad
I bloody knew that would happen.

it's not like we can do anything about most of the stories we see or hear

Sadly I think this is kind of true, but many seeds of our current discontentment were planted by George Bush et al - imagine how different things would be now if the American public had been a bit more vigilant about the kind of information they were willing to believe. Or if they had a better sense of context for the Middle East.

I was going to mention limited's point - that the question "Who is prime minister?" is often used by doctors to determine a person's level of mental deterioration. Obviously no longer much use...

I really thought soubriquet was joking. I still wonder how you can not notice who the prime minister is. You surely have to make an effort to be that inattentive.

I really thought soubriquet was joking. I still wonder how you can not notice who the prime minister is. You surely have to make an effort to be that inattentive.

why thank you

At least there's one person who thought that Labour were still capable of being in government.

those spare minutes where I would've been watching get spent on my family, friends and pets because in this world, to me they're all that matter.

But they are living in a world which is impacted by major world events and national and international politics - it isn't actually possible to exist in a bubble where 'the news' is some kind of vague background chatter.

Strongly agreed, Lurking.

Who's Gordon Brown. What happened to Arthur Balfour?

I don't watch tv news at all if I can avoid it. The constant stream of horrific images is too much for me. I read my news and listen to radio 4.

I can understand why people don't watch the news.
I do a couple of times a week but to be honest we rarely have the telly on now. Just our lifestyle really. I probably read most, I'm no expert in politics or world events but I do like to be aware of what's going on.

But I am honestly that someone can not have even noticed that we have had two prime ministers since Gordon Brown. Even if you have no interest in politics, surely you would still hear about elections and which party is in power. How is it possible not to?