Bullshit. Responsible news consumption is how we make informed decisions about the world. It’s a critical part of any democracy which is why Burke called it “the fourth estate.”

this. A lot of news is kind of inactionable too; what are we supposed to do from knowing about some dictatorship half way across the world having a coup? The thing that actually started lifting me out of passive observation and into action was reading political analysis and political theory. Strongly recommend some introductory political theory for anyone who feels a responsibility to keep up with the news but then finds that all doing so does is make them exhausted and depressed.

That sounds like a ‘you problem’. I change my behaviors and my attitudes accordingly based on what I intake and digest. When McCain first ran against Obama, he was a moderate with decades of experience who had seen the dark side of war and wouldn’t thrust us into one senselessly.

Thanks to the news I saw the rapid conversion of a formerly moral politician into someone who would say anything for power.

When the situation in Maui came up I donated as I have in the past to people affected by disasters.

Should you assume information that doesn’t affect you personally is irrelevant or are you willing to step down from your Main Character title card?

Sorry but I don’t have the ability to stop caring how the world is doing

I appreciate the concern and know about the potential negative consequences. But with all due respect, you don’t know me or the type of news I seek out or how I feel about it. I prefer to know what’s going on around me and the world so I can work towards making impactful changes. That doesn’t mean everyone else has to but it works well for me.

This is so honestly so true. Once I moved my news sources onto an RSS app and left my social media interactions for my hobbies or catching up with people my pessimism decreased dramatically.

News on social media is filled with bad actors, misinformation, and bots deliberately to drive up engagement through outrage. 99% of the time it’s not worth the mental blowback.