Why does everything look so bleak, or is it the media/news fixation on it???

[Sallygoround631]

And if you live in a pretty quiet area you may never see it with your own eyes, that's for sure!

This week already -
Grieving parents told to take their dead child home and put him/her in the fridge as no room in hospital.
A plethora of new attacks involving youths.
Women reporting sexual assaults having intrusive data collected, which puts them off reporting.
Gov supporting corruption and lies and changing laws to suit it.
Everything seems to have increased at a fast pace, from stabbings to crowd behaviour, gangs of youths everywhere (in my town especially) taking over previously sake beauty spots and nice areas.

All things that make one feel hopeless, furious. And realising there's nothing you can do. It just creates a feeling of impotence, despair, as if the news media even intend it.

There's war, yes, poverty, so many dreadful issues, this is life on earth, I know : But although I only check headlines once every few days so don't even expose myself to this stuff much, it's like with each passing week people's behaviour or mental health is worsening, more services are either not functioning or collapsing, and I swear to god as someone at nearly 50 years old the world NEVER fucking looked like this even 15 years ago. I was comfortable but far from living in a bubble! Even if you factor in global 24-7 information coming in thanks to the net, it still looks so hopeless and grim.

Believe it or not I am usually a glass half full person, but recently this has really got to me, it just doesn't feel like the place i grew up in at all.
I accept that this is tough shit, I can only play my own part to the best of my ability in this world, but sometimes I wonder if the media and news is making it worse, pulling the over all state of things out of proportion for it's own ends - we know people notice bad news quicker than good news!

But it all seems so hopeless, with living standards plummeting for so many, and how male violence at least seems to be either accepted as 'normal' or results in lenient repercussions for the aggressors.

Just one of those weeks i think..

*safe beauty spots, not sake, although we do have some rather decent Japanese goodies in our local sainsburys.

I agree. I put the Today programme on when I wake up, and by the time I’ve dragged my arse out of bed I’m feeling unspeakably bleak.

But then I stand by the Aga whilst the kettle boils and take the dog into my beautiful garden and realise that the world keeps turning and I just have to crack on.

I agree. It is what cutting public services for years does. The cuts are coming home to roost.

Some of it is the way news is reported now. News outlets - including the Beeb - are fighting for attention in a more crowded marketplace. Drama, prurient stories, tragedy, disaster - it all sells papers and gets clicks online and social media shares, sadly.

But then I stand by the Aga whilst the kettle boils and take the dog into my beautiful garden and realise that the world keeps turning and I just have to crack on.

But is the Aga relevant? I have one of these in my average priced rental and it simply doesn't help the doom slurry of news about my world.

Yes standing by my gas cooker looking into my small lawn doesn't quite have the same ring.

And news has been fast paced for years.

Well at least we weren't alive in the 1st or 2nd world war. But yes....cuts have a lot to answer for.

Youth services have been decimated. Who thought this would not have an impact?

I feel more concerned that corruption, cuts and rising crime seem to have no repercussions. Everyone from BJ to the kid with a knife know that nothing will happen to them. It's like we have all seen and heard so much now we are numb. That sort of scares me.

It's always been shit. Most people just ignored it.

In 2008 I was on holiday when the bank I was with collapsed and I was panicking about actually having any money beyond what I had on my person. People lost 1000s that year with various banking collapses.

Around a similar time there was the MPs expenses scandal and people were shocked that politicians were so corrupt. I couldn't believe people were shocked back then, let alone that anyone is vaguely surprised now at Bojos behaviour.

In 2011 I worked in a police station and was sat inside while people threw petrol bombs at it.

Do you remember the Baz Lurman song that said about when you grow old you'll fantasise about politicians being noble, prices being reasonable and children respecting their elders? That's what is happening here.

Life is shit, people survive. That is the way of the world.

I saw a programme (panorama i think) a few months ago about an area with massive anti social issues. Gangs of young boys on bikes terrorising entire neighbourhoods, creating constant fear and vandalising property. One woman who owned a pub had anxiety issues due to how many times her windows and property were smashed, for no reason.

No police precedes, no repercussions. The attitude os simply "these kids have been failed by the system".
And whilst this is very true, why is it ok to allow them to control entire communities? Neither the councils or the police care. They only care for secluded little villages where crime is rare.

Oh yeh and my honeymoon got cancelled when a volcano exploded and grounded planes across Europe. Remember that one?

It’s the media.

incidentally, there was research done in the us vs Canada and gun deaths. The sensationalised media stories was found to be the key difference in the scenarios.

we have to stop reading the fucking DM. We have to reject this shit and anything like it.

i say we, I don’t read it, click on any links or open anything with the mail as a link/address/source.

I agree. There are huge mental health problems coming out of Covid & we just don’t have the capacity to deal with it. Add in the economic situation & it’s a toxic mix. I’ve noticed an increase in anti-social youth/gangs in our local town as well. It looks like we’re in for a rough few years, it’s really depressing.

Take a break from the news. The news will never report 'everything is fine' or 'these people are having a lovely week'. So it's just the bad and the ugly. That's kind of the point of the news.

Although there are some TikTok channels that share good news.

@malificent7

"Well at least we weren't alive in the 1st or 2nd world war."

My Nan had a great time in the 40's, rationing meant food everyday and she went to work and built friendships. She quite liked not having her kids. She went to live in London, my Uncle stayed down there. On a bus drivers wage he bought a big three bed house in Milton Keynes. My mum and nan were clippys on the buses. My Mum at 18 rented a flat overlooking the Thames and went dancing every weekend.
Again things are subjective, but my children have a lot less choices and opportunities than many in those generations had.

We definitely do need a youth strategy.

To get a mortgage then on a bus drivers wage he must have had a guarantor.

Yes the impact seems to be being ignored by the government who are just making more cuts. Charities can't cope either.

The thing is, I don't read any newspapers and havent for years. I wouldnt spit on the DM.
I only check news headlines quickly every few days so by no means do i need to cut down. I do notice threads on MN though.

It is mainly what I see around me. My town has completely changed since covid, the streets are not safe anymore and most people, especially women, are not cycling or running, the elderly dog walkers have vanished too. All of the decent walks and areas are crammed with skunk smoking lads, fighting and tearing stuff apart. And that isn't an exaggeration, I promise. Everyone else is either moving away or not going out locally.
Something has definitely altered. A few streets away there is a constant police presence but the issues just seem to grow.

So when I see stuff on here, discussions about social issues and political greed, I at least know this 'feeling' wasn't as ominous when I was younger. This town is unrecognisable, and I imagine many others are too. We will be moving later this year, but it's still sad to watch.

The news and media are something else, but they do seem to enlarge the problem - a problem that is definitely there, but perhaps they have too narrow a focus on bad news to the detriment of more uplifting, inspirational coverage.

Coz lovely nice fluffy heart-warming stories don't get people watching do they? It's like when someone's life is going well - happy marriage, lovely kids, successful career, people are like 'meh....' Their life starts to turn to shit, (job loss, marriage breakdown, kids arrested for shoplifting..) 'OOH TELL ME MORRRRE!!

Isn’t there a saying ‘If no news is good news, then all news is bad news’.

The media love reporting bad news and doomsdaying - it’s an easy way to fill a 24 hr news cycle.

Take a break from the news.

Who do you want to believe ? I no longer watch the news and don't 'do' social media. Everything is geared to instant and terrifying news responses - oh and idiots called celebrities.
Life can be as simple as you want it to be and, yes its difficult but then it always has been for some.
I ignore the world of hype as much as humanly possible and dont blame everyone else for problems just try and find solutions for me. Politics is a sewer, Putin is a madman, literally. The rest of the world is out to make "loads a money" so where is the point in being a part of it or trying to keep up with it.
I lived through the Cuban Missile crisis and that, for me, was the "road to Damascus moment".
Live now, not vicariously, life is short enough to at least try and enjoy it !

Lots of people want to dismiss this as media hype. Maybe they live in posh little villages so haven't seen the changes? Like you I have seen things deteriorate with my own eyes. And to be honest the local media rarely talk about it so there is no media hype at all. But our city centre looks awful now. There are less PCSOs about and more issues with young people. More litter and graffiti. And it is getting worse.

I’ve mitigated it to an extent by not watching news or accessing online or print. Basically anything that uses emotive headlines or images to prompt a reaction. It’s to get people to click on the story or keep interested.

SM has pushed this up the agenda as it’s key to grab people when there’s loads of other content around they could be looking at.

I still feel fairly informed as luckily there are still a couple of good radio stations, although even then I take time out with music.

I also have been pondering about feedback loops and how we see the news, build on it in Tweets on SM and it gets louder, then demand grows and it stays in the news for a long time.

I feel like there is a growing gap between rl and what I see online, I thought it would realign after the pandemic but it seems to have become more separated.

basically I’m sticking to rl positivity, music and some news via information and discussion as much as is possible

I dont have a social media account

Weirdly I am pretty much detached, apart from wanting to see how Ukraine is getting on and some basic news. The comments advising me to stop watching it are puzzling me as I have repeatedly said I am a very infrequent news watcher.

I am aware though, it is difficult to not notice both your surroundings and what is going on in the world at large.

I would have to quit MN and blur out the trending topics not to notice anything at all