Major media news outlets tend to be biased and negative in their coverage (both in what they choose to report and how they report it), so while there is certainly some value in keeping up with what’s going on in the world, paying too much attention to “news” can be detrimental both as a waste of time and as a downgrading effect on overall attitude.

News consumption should be purposeful. Scan headlines to see if there’s anything major going on the world that will affect your decisions, and only go deeper with good reason. There’s little point in reading or watching coverage of the latest freeway chases, murders, or celebrity screw-ups.

If news consumption has no positive effect on your beliefs or actions, then it’s a waste of time. There’s no neutral. If it isn’t helping you, it’s hurting you by crowding out what you could be doing instead.

I found that when eating breakfast and reading the news at the same time, I lose track of time which can cause me to be late leaving the house. I’ve had to ignore the newspaper and simply scan it at the most in order to make sure I don’t fall into that trap. The downside is that I am more out of touch with the world these days.