To never watch the news or read a paper again?

[HeadMeetSand]

People being raped/murdered, animals being made to suffer horrendously, drowned or starving children, pain, death, terror and a relentless unfairness.

I read about it, I watch it. It haunts me and I find myself crying about it, agonising about it.

And the truth is I can't do anything meaningful to stop it. I donate, give gifts, sign petitions, go on marches.

Nothing ever really changes. I don't have the money or the power to really do something about the injustice and those that do, don't do anything meaningful either.

I tried it, just for a week. We didn't buy any newspapers, watch or listen to any news and I actually felt peaceful.

No doubt there are still atrocities happening but I was blissfully unaware of them. And actually able to sit back and enjoy my life, where luckily, for now, nothing bad is happening.

I intended it to only be for a week, but I think I will purposely create a little bubble of ignorance in our home forever. Wibu?

Despite working in Child Protection, I find news stories about children suffering extremely difficult. To the point I'm not able to sleep. I try to avoid news stories now which have revelling in it vibe to them.
I still think it's very important to keep ourselves informed, but it's trying to filter out all the total misery which we can feel powerless about.

I'm also suspicious of the angle the media take when reporting something. I don't want to be un-informed but I don't want to be misinformed either.

It is relentless, we're bombarded with news in a way that didn't happen 20 years ago. That might be okay if it was considered and placed in some kind of context but instead it's just a stream of misery with no attempt at analysis. And knowing lots of terrible things are happening is pointless if you have no way of changing them. Really it's no better than voyeurism.

It's not unreasonable to want to avoid that and it's healthier to focus on the things you can influence.

I used to read every news app, facebook, twitter etc... Now I'm off them all and it is so peaceful. My world now is just my family and day to day concerns.. I still hear about some stuff as I want to keep up to date but it's not the same as a constant stream of despair. You can only do so much to help which you are already doing, there's no point all of us feeling depressed all the time.

I'm sorry but to all those people saying mainstream news just hand stuff up... What has gone on in Aleppo is NOT hammed up. It is awful and real and people should know about it.
I am definitely in the camp that we should watch and read the news.
And things DO make a difference. If you don't think you're making a difference then do more is what I'd say. Get out there. Volunteer. Turning a blind eye isn't the answer

Oly5. I've been listening to BBC 4 reporting Aleppo day in day out and was mystified, because it has been so against the Russians in all this and so in favour of the militants fighting against the Russians. So I looked up who those militants are. They are nearly all Al Quaida and ISIS. Of course the whole Syria situation is a disaster and, like the OP, it is hard to get through the day being bombarded with detailed information about these people's suffering, but why is the BBC taking sides with Al Qaida in all this?

That's how dreadful the other side in this conflict are Atenco.

atenco

It's a mess, that's why.

It may be better for Western countries to just stay out of it.

I know what you mean, I used to follow lots of news and charity pages on faceboook etc but was so tired of horrible things popping up in my newsfeed, things that I couldn't un-see etc that I've gradually stopped following them all. I still give to charity and try to live as cruelty free as possible and just watch occasional news on the tv.

I got myself into a terribly anxious and sad place this year, obsessively reading the news. Syria, Brexit, Trump, Putin, Antibiotic resistance and climate change. It felt like Armegeddon was coming.

I've always been a worrier and cared about the under dogs. As a child I would lie awake at night and cry about bad things I'd seen in the news.

I want to be informed. I believe Facism always lurks and we need to be aware. But our well-being is important.

I've taken my ds to a refugee welcome protest. Donated good cloths to appeals. Money too. I think having a tolerant attitude and leading by example is important. I speak out against racism and sexism. I try to teach my three children to be kind, open-minded and appreciate how lucky they are.

But beyond that, I'm tired of worrying. So I'm allowing myself to switch off from the news over Christmas. Just for a bit of peace. I'm an avid reader, so will read novels instead.

My ex MIL stopped reading, watching and listening to any news other than the local parish newsletter. She is in no way ignorant or uninterested in the world, far from it - she's highly educated and was a charity worker for many years.

However, she found herself getting very upset by the news and increasingly dwelling on it during the rest of the day. Eventually she couldn't sleep for days on end, due to worrying about things happening in the world. She ended up being sectioned twice as she was just inconsolable and unable to function after a week without any sleep at all.

Clearly there were mental health issues resent which weren't created by the news per se, but all that tragedy on the TV every day wasn't helping her one bit. She is much, much happier now.

This was me ,, I used to lay in bed thinking of all the bad things I'd seen or read ,,,, stopped buying papers and I never watched the news ,, obviously I'm aware of big events that happen through friends and family but i honestly feel my life is sooooo much better having opted out of newspapers and news ,,, they weren't having any benefitial impact my life at all , wish I'd done it years ago !

I don't watch the news and I never read newspapers. The world is full of hate and terror. I don't want to see it.