Dilip
<
[email protected]> 13 Sep 2021
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Living without news and social media.
Around the start of Fall 2019 (my memory is flaky here, but it sounds
correct to me), I decided that I was going to cut off from all news and
"news like" sources. That meant the traditional news media channels and
also podcasts, reddit, magazines etc. I had already cut out social
media, so this was the last nail in the coffin.
It is fall 2021 now, I am about to finish two years of living under a
rock. It's time to look back and reflect upon this lifestyle.
The most unexpected aspect of this lifestyle was that I still hear
about all the important things going on in the world. People talk about
it and I can't avoid friends and family discussing topics in group
chats and text messages. However, I am completely unaware of the
current hot topic that everyone has agreed to be outraged about. It's
great.
Social gatherings are awkward. I'm always left behind asking people to
explain what's going on and everyone has to wait till I catch up. Then
I ask questions which end up being very polarizing and I often risk
triggering heated discussions. On the other hand, it's a great way to
connect with people - I know someone who loves following geopolitical
current affairs. When I hang out with him, I ask "so what's happening
in the world?" and kick off delightful little conversations.
I've found that the longer I stay away from news media, the harder it
is for me to get back to them. Right now, I find the tone, topics,
coverage and discussions to be absolutely repulsive. I also don't trust
anyone anymore unless they take the time to write a 300 page book
filled with references and rigorous research.
Would I recommend this lifestyle to everyone? Probably not - however, I
would absolutely not recommend keeping up with the news either. A good
balance I've found is following some blogs and newsletters. People who
write on their own platform have incentives to maintain their
credibility and reputation and there are some good people out there
writing interesting stuff.
