This is Why I’m On An Information Diet With No News

One of my fondest childhood memories was when I would stay over at my grandparents’ house for the weekend.

Being the smartest, best looking and most charming grandson (the fact I was the only grandson is neither here nor there) meant I always got the royal treatment. From my Grandma’s borscht, cabbage rolls, perogies and potato pancakes, to staying up late like a grownup.

But no matter when I visited, everything stopped at 6 pm so I and my grandparents could watch the news.  They also tuned in at 11, but I was counting sheep by that time. Clearly, they were not on an information diet with no news!

But, in their defense, back then the news was different. It was focused on disseminating the facts.  These days with the 24-hour news cycle and the internet, it seems like the competition for eyeballs and ad revenue has meant that there has been a shift from disseminating facts to creating sensational headlines, so people click or watch.

Personally, I have abandoned the news and gone on an information diet with respect to it. Which is the subject of today’s opinion blog post – why I have given up news once and for all.

However, seeing as how this blog is entertaining AND actionable, it would be rude of me not to suggest some better uses for your time if you decide to boycott the news along with me – so I will do that at the end of this post.

I Did a Little Experiment to Prove a Hypothesis I Cooked Up

Before I tell you what my hypothesis was, let me first outline my little experiment.  I love reading, both books and various articles on my iPad – yes, I’m a big nerd. I use an app called Flipboard which aggregates articles under various categories such as Technology, Sports, Self-Improvement, Nutrition etc. One of the categories whose articles I never read…News.

But in the name of self-improvement experimentation, I decided to break with tradition and open the News tab. My experiment was to write down the headlines of the first 10 articles I came across. And before we go any further, here they are:

  Without Evidence, Trump claims documents confirm misconduct
  NYPD files formal departmental charges against officers in Eric Garner Case
  Trader Joe’s Standoff in Los Angeles Ends With 1 Dead and Hostages Freed
  Russian based air-strikes hit Islamic State in southern Syria
  Germany’s left and right vie to turn politics upside down
  In a move to empower victims of sexual harassment, Vermont law takes aim at common legal practice
  Labor should drop action against Margaret Hodge, McDonnell says
  Police release sketch of suspect who fatally shot George H.W. Bush’s cardiologist
  Iran jolted by moderate, light earthquakes; 150 injured
  Washington police officer killed after being struck by patrol vehicle during pursuit, officials say

My Hypothesis Was Correct

If you look at all the headlines above, something that immediately jumps out at you is the fact that…they are all either negative, sad or both!  In fact, I had to read more than 50 headlines to get to a positive news story! More on that positive news story later on in the post.

Negativity is just one of the major reasons my information diet specifically means that I no longer read or watch the news.

Some of the Other Reasons for My Information Diet…

…and my boycotting of the news are:

I don’t know who, or what, to believe

I will stay away from politics here, but to me, part of the function of the news is to give us facts to help us figure out who to vote for. The problem is this – you have some networks who are so far to the left, and some who are so far to the right. And it seems like they are so concerned with advancing their political agendas, that is impossible to separate fact from fiction. The problem is that unless you have access to all of the unbiased information, which none of us do, how do you know what is true and what is not?

Causes Unneeded Stress

NEWS = never-ending worry source. All that negativity and sadness just makes people worry about shit they have no control over, which leads to stress.

Overwhelming

Talk about information overload! There is just so much to sort through, and even if I was into the news I have no idea where I would start. What news channel should you watch? There are so many! Which newspaper or online news source should you go to? Again, there are so many! And once you are there, what should you read? I’m getting overwhelmed just thinking about it.

Most Stories Do Not Affect Me

None of the stories above affect me personally and I would hazard a guess that they don’t affect the majority of you personally either.  Not only that, but there is nothing we can do about them anyway. Take the earthquake in Iran, unless you have family there, it is not going to affect you and there is nothing you can do about it, other than feel bad for those poor people. But on the other hand, shitty stuff happens across the world every day, that’s part of life. And enough shitty stuff is going to happen to us that will make us feel bad as it is, we don’t need to be feeling bad about shitty stuff happening to other people too.

Sensationalized

Then there is the fact that many of the headlines we see are sensationalized, and in my opinion, ridiculous. How else can you explain this headline from a South Florida TV station:

Florida fisherman captures video of 500-pound goliath grouper eating shark

When I read the headline, I thought the following: “holy shit a grouper ate a shark!” – picturing an Atlantic Ocean version of David vs. Goliath…Jaws being eaten by a 500 lb. grouper in an epic deep-sea battle!

Here’s the problem, when you actually take the bait, pun intended, and click the link you find out that it wasn’t Jaws, it was only a 3-foot shark and that Goliath groupers can grow up to 8 feet long and 800 lbs.

It’s sensationalized bullshit and a minute of your life you will never get back!

The number one reason – It’s a waste of time…

…and going on an information diet devoid on news can save you money!

Think of it like this, let’s say you spend an hour a day either watching the news on TV or reading the news. That’s equivalent to over 15 days per year. Now, let’s say you do that from when you are 25 until you are 75 – for 50 years, it adds up to 750 days or over 2 full years – which is equivalent to 18,000 hours.

Just for shits and giggles, let’s see if we can do a little back of the napkin calculation to add a monetary value to it, seeing as how time is one of our most valuable resources. Let’s start low and say your time is worth $10/hour, even at $10/hour, that equates to $180,000 over 50 years. Now, let’s say you value your time at $25/hour, all that time spent on the news is costing you $450,000!

Ok, maybe I am being a bit sensationalistic myself, but I am trying to make a point. News can really be a time waster and it can really add up over time!

Before we go…

Back to the Positive Story I Finally Found

The first headline that I came across after reading more than 50 was the following: “Baby girl born in Texas Chick-Fil-A gets free food for life and a future job”

To summarize the article, the family involved was heading to the hospital when the pregnant woman needed to use the restroom. They stopped at a Chick-Fil-A, which was closed by the way, and the manager let them in. Long story short she had the baby in the bathroom of Chick-Fil-A. Shortly thereafter, the restaurant announced free food for life for the baby, a job at the age of 14 and the baby’s first birthday party being held there – all made by the local operator, as all restaurants are locally owned and operated.

Being the skeptical dude that I am, I immediately had the following reaction:

Chick-Fil-A, or at least the local restaurant, is using this situation as a publicity stunt to get free media coverage and advertising.  There are so many faulty assumptions being made here:

(1)  The girl still lives in San Antonio when she grows up (I doubt any other Chick-Fil-A restaurants honor these promises).

(2)  She likes Chick-Fil-A when she grows up.

(3)  The girl will actually want to work at Chick-Fil-A.

(4)  This Chick-Fil-A restaurant will still be around when she is 14.

(5)  If the restaurant is still there and there are new owners, do they honor the commitment? Does the family have anything in writing? Is it legally binding?

Oh, and how about the birthday party?!?!? How many one-year old’s eat Chick-Fil-A?

Smells like a big publicity stunt to me and just another reason I am on an information diet without any news!

Until next time, news shmews!…and as always…Prime Your Pump!
–Rick

Use It or Lose It – Other Options

Some intellectual pursuits you may want to explore if you join me on my information diet with no news may be:

  Podcasts
  Reading
  TED Talks
  Documentaries
  Taking an online course through Coursera, edX, or Udemy

When to Use It:

It’s your call, but for me, my time is better spent not watching or reading the never-ending worry source!

What Do You Think?

Do you watch the news? Or are you on an information diet with no news as well?

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