To think it’s odd that Dfriend has no idea what’s happening in the news

[Rightlessmore]

Spoke to Dfriend and I mentioned how awful things are in Ukraine. I was surprised when she asked what I meant and it turned out she had absolutely no idea what was happening. This made me wonder how normal this is. To me it seems unavoidable as the information is everywhere, but maybe that’s just my life. I just can’t see how you can’t not know what’s going on and my teenage DC know too. I assumed everyone kind of knows what’s going on in the world at any given time. This Dfriend did seem misinformed regarding coronavirus too and now I can see why. I’m not criticising her - she’s great, but is this common?

It is unusual!

I tend to avoid too much news/headlines but it's near on impossible to not know what is going on. And surely her teens talk about it! Mine do!

Does she suffer from anxiety? I only ask because I avoid watching the news and only get my news from a non political Instagram news page, as it reduces my anxiety

I imagine there are quite a lot of people like this, more interested in filming their arse/meal/botox or whatever for their similarly intellectually-challenged friends on social media. It's very sad. I couldn't be friends with someone like that, what on earth would you talk about?

Hillarious, R4 has been the soundtrack of my life for most of my life, but not at the moment. The last time I stopped watching/listening to the news was after 9/11. It's self preservation really. Having said that, I do know what's going on, just don't follow incessantly.

I can’t believe that she just didn’t know, even if you don’t watch the news or buy papers, surely your work colleagues would speak about it now and again? And her teenagers must know as yes I agree with a previous poster saying teenagers don’t watch the news, but it has been all over tik tok, that first week it was the only thing on there!

I find it odd that something like the war in Ukraine could have passed by anybody who is in contact with friends/ family/ colleagues. I don’t watch the news or regularly read a newspaper, I often initially find out about things from a thread on Mumsnet/ Reddit or a post on Facebook/ Instagram
etc and that may then prompt me to look at the news to find out what’s happening. I have missed out on some news announcements and only found out when they’re brought up by people I know in real life, things like when covid restrictions have been lifted I sometimes haven’t been aware until people have been discussing them at work, but I’m usually only a day or two behind.

I can understand that if somebody doesn’t use the internet much they might be unaware of some news events but to be completely oblivious to even major news stories like the war in Ukraine seems odd. It’s been regularly mentioned at my work and there are local posters up for collections etc, you’d have to really live in a bubble to have avoided it until now.

I glance over the headlines but I don’t find it healthy to consume a steady diet of gloom and doom. Occasionally I deep dive into an issue to try and understand it - the history and geopolitics of Ukraine and Russia for instance.

I don’t think choosing not to follow the news is a sign of being intellectually challenged. Most people who speak about current affairs seem to have a very limited grasp of them and are just quoting what they heard on the radio a few minutes before.

I am surprised your friend wouldn’t have heard about this from her teens. That’s what strikes me as peculiar because it has been a big topic in my dcs’ schools

Ignorance is not bliss, in this case. It's lazy and negligent. And when people are actively proud of their ignorance, it absolutely does my head in.

It's also extremely disempowering. If people don't pay any attention to the news, they're not making informed decisions about their own actions. For example, imagine that your favourite clothing store was revealed to be using slave labour by children to produce its clothes, and you had no idea about that because you don't pay any attention to the news - you might then carry on handing over your money to a company whose actions were absolutely abhorrent to you. You're also denying yourself the opportunity to take action or make decisions about issues that directly affect you and the people around you.

I barely have time to watch the news and when I finally get tv time it’s Netflix 🙈 however, I do scroll the news on my phone at lunch etc so try and keep up with the headlines. I used to always watch it but right now don’t have space for it. I’ll come back to it hopefully in a year or so when my schedule settles a bit

My DH was probably the only person who didn’t know about Will Smith hitting Chris Rock 😂
He is aware of the war in Ukraine and Covid 19 though 😂
He says the news is depressing and mainly full of bullshit so he rarely listens or watches any news programs

surprised she had no idea whatsoever

even my ignorant dsis who hates the news knew what was happening

Would the world be a better place with her knowing?

Does it help anyone if she knows the ins and outs of global affairs?

Would you feel better if she was laying in bed at night worrying about the state of the world?

I know something is going on but haven't seen a single news story or video and actively avoid photos and news stories about current affairs.

The only thing that will happen is that I will get myself into an anxious mess and my family will have to deal with that. It literally helps no one.

We donate money when we can afford it.

I've taken several breaks from all news media in the past. I actually find its great for my mental wellbeing and just feeling more positive about life and only concerned with the stuff I have direct control over (e.g. My work and home).

Unfortunately my naturally inquisitive mind and thirst for knowledge always gets me back into the trap of keeping up with the 24/7 news cycle. Not that it does me any direct personal benefit in doing so.

DH doesn't follow the news intentionally, but he listens to radio 2 so he hears the headlines and knows what's going on.
I purposely follow news and I listen to Radio 4 if there's something big, like war or elections, going on. I don't tend to get over emotionally involved though, I am able to detach myself from it so it doesn't effect me. I understand that some people find that hard, but I still think a basic awareness is important.
DCs are teens and we discuss current events and they usually know what is going on (though the 12 year old not so much).

I remember working in a care home 10 years ago and an 18 year old colleague not knowing who the prime minister was. That threw me!

A dd had a friend like this, when it was all kicking off in Iraq. She honestly had no idea. And she was mid-20s at the time, not a young teen.

She read no papers, watched/listened to no news. All she was interested in was clothes, make up, and especially ‘celebs’ - I loathe that word! So she’d read Hello! or similar, but nothing else.

@Chely

Plenty avoid the news because it's fucking depressing. I can't say I blame them

I check once a day, but to a large extent this is me at this point.

Some people just don't want to know about all the awful things going on in the world. There's very rarely any good news, it's all about war, shortages, NHS going to shit.
I must say it's hard to avoid knowing though. There's social media, TV news, newspapers. Even when you're doing a supermarket shop, the papers and their headlines are on display.

My daughter is purposefully avoiding the news and SM atm. She has a young child, can be anxious and it’s too much for her.

Perfectly understandable, I think.

My mother, too. At 84, though fit and healthy, she doesn’t know how long she has and doesn’t want to spend her time in a well of misery. They occupy their days with walks, gardening, reading, nature documentaries and avoid the news.

Personally I have found it incredibly liberating to switch off the news over the past couple of years. Made the pandemic dissappear overnight. What's the point in getting worked up and anxious over something that doesn't impact you?

@incognitoforthisone

Ignorance is not bliss, in this case. It's lazy and negligent. And when people are actively proud of their ignorance, it absolutely does my head in.

It's also extremely disempowering. If people don't pay any attention to the news, they're not making informed decisions about their own actions. For example, imagine that your favourite clothing store was revealed to be using slave labour by children to produce its clothes, and you had no idea about that because you don't pay any attention to the news - you might then carry on handing over your money to a company whose actions were absolutely abhorrent to you. You're also denying yourself the opportunity to take action or make decisions about issues that directly affect you and the people around you.

Totally agree.

If it's true, that's really quite extreme! I find it hard to imagine what kind of interaction she must be having with the world (various forms of media, and other people) to really have NO idea what is going on in the Ukraine. Does it matter much? I'm not entirely sure. On the one hand, it is true that most people can't make much difference. On the other hand, it does say something about her interest in the outside world, about her care and concern for people beyond her immediate circle, which would put me off. And collectively, we do make a difference: we decide what to buy, where to invest, where to travel, how to vote, what to campaign for, what information to share.... I do wonder if people should pass some kind of current affairs knowledge test before they are allowed to vote (not really, not seriously, but....)

I think there are a few people who need to step away from the news at times in order to protect their mental health. But for most of us, having some awareness does not lead to us living in a pit of misery and despair or a state of real anxiety.

I think I'd struggle to find things in common with someone who pays that little attention to important things going on in the world. It seems a very infantile thing to do.

Knowledge is important. There isn't the need to necessarily obsess about events but I do think adults have a responsibility to keep informed so that they can make informed decisions about their own lives.

There have been times where I've stepped back from social media and watching / listening to the news, as it was all a bit much but I still had a general awareness of big current events.

With something major like the Ukraine invasion DD's school sent a letter out about it, I would have noticed headlines on the newspapers in shops, and it's been mentioned in general chat with friends/ work. I'm just baffled how she avoided it entirely for over a month?

I work with people who don't give a stuff about anything that doesn't directly affect them. I think it's astonishing that so many people live their lives like this.