Staying Informed
Heya everyone!
So I believe that it's important to stay up to date with news and what's going on in the world. However over the last few months I've found this increasingly challenging for a few reasons.
Sometimes the news can be pretty overwhelming. I find that when there are not great things happening, it can really get me down, especially if there's nothing I can do about it (which is the vast majority of the time).
It's also a bit hard to find news and facts from reputable sources, and especially with 'fake news' and 'alternative facts' (sigh) floating around, it can be tricky to determine what to trust. A lot of people are claiming that various news sites are biased in various ways, and I don't know what to believe 😛
How do other people navigate this? I've resorted to cutting out most news and just relying on what's trending on Twitter (possibly the worst way to find things out) or videos from people like the vlogbrothers, as well as just word of mouth, to figure out what's happening. This is a terrible strategy and I want to fix it.
So how do other people stay informed without getting bogged down in bad news? How do you know that the you're getting is correct without spending hours fact checking?
Have an awesome day 🙂
Comments
@roseisnotaplant suuuuchhhhh a good thread.
I think this is a common struggle for people, I definitely struggle with it. I follow a website called Positive News however it's not up to date. I think there's a strong niche market for a news service that delivers up to date news but with a 70/30 rule. Say 70% of tweets are positive news and 30% negative, with the good vibes offsetting the heavy stuff.
I think you're attempt at twitter is kind of cool though because at least it's condensed a bit.
Hmm let's open this convo up and get some feedback - @May_ @safari93 @lokifish @DruidChild
I think about this all the time. In terms of news accuracy I guess my conclusion is that you can never know for sure whether things are true or not. And it is another questions whether there is one truth that even exists, or if there are many different truths that are all equally valid. I think accepting that we are all biased is a good place to start, and to think critically about everything you see and read. Even peer reviewed academic articles have biases.
In terms of wanting to stay informed but not getting bogged down, @lokifish made a good suggestion - just looking at news when you feel that you are in the right headspace to do it. I get most of my news from my Facebook feed which is probably not a good place to get it from haha.
Thanks for the replies everyone, I'll have to check those links out. Hank recently made a video on this topic, and I thought I'd just leave it here if you're interested.
I have the same issue @roseisnotaplant so I'm glad you've brought it up.
Personally I've just configured my Facebook settings so that a lot of news articles no longer show up in my news feed. I still get email subscriptions from a few science blogs and a site called The Conversation (their articles are written by university academics, but they're aimed at the general public) so at least that way I have more control over what I see - if I'm feeling pretty shitty I just don't open the email. Otherwise I also have the ABC News app on my tablet, and I'm trying to get into the habit of setting aside a time period each day to check the news (probably in the mornings because that's when I'm at my best). That way I'm still keeping up to date on current events but I'm only being exposed to the crappy stuff in the world for a short time.
to be honest I ignore all news media and only pay attention to satire news sites like the Betoota Advocate to gauge whats happening in the world.
its too stressful for me and i find i get waay too emotionally involved.
Have you ever heard of/followed Upworthy? I find they often present various bits of news with a positive spin, which I like. Other than that, I've also recently resorted to Facebook/Twitter trends. Or I'll listen to a radio station like 3AW, which my dad swears by for the news
