To be sick of the news constantly bombarding us with gloom

[Viviennemary]

Yesterday it was school's falling to bits. That's been going on in minute detail for days. Switched on the BBC news. New doomsday scenario sewage in the rivers in great detail. STFU. Switched off.

Agree! I was always of the understanding that the news liked to try and end on a ‘happy’ note or a funny story or something a little lighthearted…. Not nowadays, it’s wall to wall glooooom!

I don’t watch as I just can’t bear it!

The news isn’t a programming tool It’s supposed to be there to tell people what’s going on in the world, not manage the population’s emotions and mental health.

Yes these are difficult times. That’s a different matter.

Unfortunately if the country is falling apart they are going to have to tell you.

The schools debacle is because the government refuses to provide a list of schools they know are falling down.

And the sewage issue is an ongoing story.

This^

Turn off, step away and get outside.

I agree it is gloomy, thats because it is. The future isn’t bright unfortunately and now and again it does get too much. Depressing.

I see voting is 50/50 at the mo.

'News' mostly is news because it effects us. Stuff that affects us mostly is bad. However, i get your point.

I'm ok with the concrete problem because it's a very new story and is disrupting a lot of schooling right now, and has the potential to disrupt a lot of other public services. Courts, surgeries ect.

Same with the sewage actually. The fact that the discharge is going on basically all the time illegally is new and something important.

But - and I hate to say this, the daily mawkish pieces on specific cases of illness, along with the piano music and tears gets on my tits. It's supposed to be the world news, i don't want to be bought to bloody tears every day at 6.30. It's not a 'magazine' style program after all, it's the world news.

Also, while i'm here, do they have to tell us practically every day with graphs and visits to markets that food and energy prices are high ?! I mean - it's been going on a lone time, we have noticed !!

Would you like the news to lie?

Totally agree with all of it

The news isn't our problem it's the party running our country.

If you want less gloom in our lives don't vote for the shit on beaches collapsing concrete hanging over British children's heads because we've given all the country's money to our mates party next time.

This. Absolutely these are tough times, but 'the news' is supposed to be a guide to what is actually happening, not some cheery pick-me-up.

The news has always been doom and gloom for as long as I can remember so I don't really let it effect me though.

David Attenborough though! - my God I've had to stop watching him with his pessimistic outlook on the future of the planet.

Yanbu we had a holiday away and didn’t hear anything for ages. Haven’t got back into it since

Sod them and turn it off you’ll feel better for it

I'd rather hear it than be falsely 'protected' from reality, tbh. I don't just watch one news source, however, so I end up with a slightly more balanced view. Don't watch any of them if you really don't want to though, especially if you're getting down about stuff you can't change.

I'd replace pessimistic with realistic. I admire his honesty.

The sad fact is the news is a lot of doom and gloom.

And when it isn’t, media outlets will always promote their crime stories and negative stories more. It’s where they get the clicks from.

Just to clarify @Viviennemary You are ok with sewage in our rivers and collapsing concrete above our children’s heads, but you’re angry that news reporters are reporting it.

You would rather we didn’t know that our rivers are dangerous to swim in and our school buildings are dangerous for our children to sit and learn in?

You’d prefer that?

Brave to say that 😃 About DA i mean.

But ikwym. I know we're all supposed to be happy to not watch an animal program without willingly flagellating ourselves about straws up turtles noses ect, but i find myself avoiding his programs now too.

The news actually kind of IS a programming tool - OK that's taking it a bit far, but by deciding what counts as news, and how each story is portrayed to us, it creates both what is news, and the public mood surrounding it. News is a massively powerful tool when it comes to informing and shaping the mood and opinions of a nation.

Yes it should tell us what is going on in the world, but clearly it is not as black and white as that, and it does to an extent manage the populations emotions and mental health. Think about the news reports during covid, deliberately designed to keep the nation in a state of perpetual fear, new variants being announced at carefully calculated times, so that covid rules would be obeyed and hospitals would not be overwhelmed. And we only perceive we are living in difficult times because the news says so - the cost of living crisis, schools that have stood since the 1950s suddenly being at risk of imminently collapsing, Brexit doom. The fact we still live in one of the healthiest, safest, richest societies in the world is largely ignored - because it doesn't make good news. Effective news stories are by their nature, almost always negative.

There is an off switch, if you wish to bury your head in the sand.

It’s always been like this - bad news sells/gets viewing figures.

I remember when I was growing up (I’m nearly 60 now), my mum used to say “I don’t watch the news as it’s all bad”.

when I’m feeling low, I avoid the news as it can be depressing.

Tbh I'd rather know about the dangerous state of our public infrastructure and the factors that caused it, and the fact that the rivers I might otherwise let my kids swim in are full of human shit, than to live in a happy bubble fed only on a diet of the government's panem et circences.

Yes to this and the idea it isn’t a programming tool was clearly shown to not be the case during Covid

A great example of how much it does impact us, it was the reason the majority complied.

Getting hooked on cycles of news all the time isn’t great for mh, better off getting updates eg once a week

I’m on mn so clearly I’ll hear about stuff going on

There is no such thing as 'The News' as in a single source/agenda any more in these days of mass media, social media, multi-platform and so on. You've never had so much choice of where to get your news from, how much or how little to get, whether to have 24-hour rolling or total black-out or whatever in between, right wing, left wing, central, global, local etc etc etc. They aren't bombarding you with anything unless you let them. They have air to fill and they'll fill it no matter what's going on on in the world. That doesn't mean you need to engage or give a shit. Look out of your window if that's all the news you want. Watch kitten videos on YouTube. You are fully empowered to imbibe gloom or uplift or a 50/50 mix and none of it is ever the unadulterated truth.

Yes, this. I turned it off temporarily and never went back.

It’s made zero difference to my life - actually it’s reduced stress. I cant change anything, so I may as well stick my
head in the sand.

It’s all shaped and spun anyway, you’d have to do the work yourself if you really wanted to know what’s going on.

It's a programming tool. Guess what? You can still know what goes on in the world without watching that crap day in and day out.
Feeding your mind with negativity. Alot of it is programming.
Much better alternative media stations with great factual information, and evolving opinions, and difference of view points with balanced news.

Bill Hicks summed it up nicely.