News Media Fast...join me!

[mikeschoolbus]

I've lurked at SP for a while...this is the first time I wanted to comment.

Have you been watching the media? OMG! I am sick and tired of the doom and gloom. I am now on day 7 of a media fast. It all started when I was watching CNN and they had some guy on saying that we are on the cusp of a Great Depression. Oh come on! Really? A great depression? Soup lines? People selling their children for money to buy for food? 25% unemployment? Have you seen footage of the Great Depression? The term Great Depression is being brandied about like its already here (and technically, we haven't even hit a recession in its true definition). Could it happen..sure. Is it likely, no.

Let's not forgot the auto industry, the stock markets, the banks, the housing crisis. A crisis here and a crisis there. Murders and child abuse start the local morning and evening newscasts. Don't forget global warming, the killer typhoon, the avalanche and the earthquakes.

Crisis, crisis, crisis. I'm sick of it. Are things great, no. Is it as bad as the media makes it seem...absolutely not. Now, I'm talking about an aggragate whole...if you personally lost your job..then it is a great depression until you find a new one. But as a whole, we are no where near as bad as everyone thinks (or as the doom and gloom media would have you think).

We still are no where near as bad as the 1970s. Gas lines, double-digit inflation coupled with a bad recession (stagflation). Again, could be be heading there...sure. Will we likely head there, no. These "experts" talking about the Great Depression we are heading for are the same bozos who said that by the end of 2008 we'd have $8 a gallon gas and $12 a gallon next summer. LOL...It is $1.71 in my area. Of course no media outlet brings these guys back and holds their feet to the flames. Though I'm sure they'd have a rational excuse, "Well, Brit, I could have never predicted the complete and utter collapse of our whole economy. That's driving down gas prices." Morons.

Whew...Sorry about all that. I needed to get that out.

So, I'm on a media fast. I have absolutely no clue what is going on in the world. You know what, I've actually been able to sleep at night more peacefully, I don't have a sick feeling in my stomach anymore, I'm actually happier. I'm listening to positive, uplifting music. I'm reading positive books and personal development sites. I'm paying more attention to my job, my family, and to myself. I'm not wasting time watching the news or reading pages of CNN to see what lawmakers are doing with the auto industry. I've also stopped watching Discover Channel episodes of the comet that is sure to strike earth and any moment and the coming end of the world in 2012 predicted by many religions and sooth-sayers.

I don't know how long I can go but I'm hoping for a very, very long time. Tim Ferris and Jeffrey Gitomer both say that everyone should just stop watching the news. It's too depressing and doesn't bring any value. I read their books a year or so ago...now I'm listening. I hope more Americans do the same...likely not, but I can hope.

Thanks for reading. I hope I've inspired at least one SP reader to follow my lead.

Peace...and I mean that. Peace. Turn off the news. Peace.

[missing]

Good luck but I can't join you. I need my daily injection of gloom flavored morphine to satisfy my craving and get energy. It's just too easy to acquire. However, I remember a few years back spending a month in Cuba, with no western media. It was a pretty interesting experience though I had plenty of other things to distract myself with. This was back during the 2003 primary presidential elections in January. When I left, Howard Dean was the front runner for the Democrats. Imagine the shock when suddenly I was hearing "Kerry, Kerry, Kerry" everywhere as I got back.

While there is some valid stuff in your posts, some things do concern me:

Again, could be be heading there...sure. Will we likely head there, no. These "experts" talking about the Great Depression we are heading for are the same bozos who said that by the end of 2008 we'd have $8 a gallon gas and $12 a gallon next summer. LOL...It is $1.71 in my area. Of course no media outlet brings these guys back and holds their feet to the flames. Though I'm sure they'd have a rational excuse, "Well, Brit, I could have never predicted the complete and utter collapse of our whole economy. That's driving down gas prices." Morons.

To me this just sounds like denial, or rationalization. Yes, the media sensationalizes things, but there are problems in the world. Nobody is perfect, and predicting the future is insanely difficult. People can predict in general terms but the timing is very difficult, and since this stuff is all intertwined, one thing reverberates and effects everything. And you want to hold somebody's feet to the flames for not being perfect? How does saying that a depressed economy lower gas prices make somebody a moron? Seems like common sense to me. Mocking people who are trying to make sense of the world's problems does nobody favors. But if it helps you sleep better at night, I guess that's good.

I don't know how long I can go but I'm hoping for a very, very long time. Tim Ferris and Jeffrey Gitomer both say that everyone should just stop watching the news. It's too depressing and doesn't bring any value. I read their books a year or so ago...now I'm listening. I hope more Americans do the same...likely not, but I can hope.

If I were an elite who had lots of influence to shape the world, and wanted to push through an image of said world that might not be popular with the masses, I'd be hoping for the same thing as you!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying what you are doing is bad. I think it's a good first step, and I myself would have a hard time taking it. But it's ONLY a first step, and a very dangerous one to get trapped into. Ideally, you'd want to be able to watch the news, take in all the "gloom" and still maintain that "positive" feeling you get by not watching the news.

[escapee]

Yes, Turn off the TV and accept the truth that the largest credit bubble in the history has just imploded. The situation will get worse before it gets better.

Would you just watch this last media clip before you commit a full media fast?

YouTube - Must watch video! Brenden Foster's dying wish-feed the homeless!

[mikeschoolbus]

I'm not fasting on all media..just the news media. So..I'll watch that clip when I get a chance.

Here's my rationale...The credit markets implode. GM goes bankrupt. I have no idea if the gov't bailed them out or not. Either way, I cannot do a dern thing about it. It's like a sports game. I could watch my favorite team play in the world series, get stressed out, yell at the TV, get high blood pressure. Or, I could do something else and then check the score the next day. Same result without all the anxiety. BUT...watching sports is more fun than watching GM go belly up. They will either go belly up or they will not. The results are the same. I just choose not to go through the weeks of anxiety and talking head bloviating to get to the same exact point.

Somehow Ill find out what happens. The result will be the same as if I watched the doom and gloom but without all the needless anxiety.


Lastly...regarding prediction...I agree, predictions are difficult (impossible?). My point was that I've heard more doom and gloom predictions on the media that have turned out to be false than true. The news is now entertainment. Doom and gloom sells. They sensationalize it. A friend of mine was quoted in the paper about a year ago. He's a positive guy and puposefully spun his comments to sound positive. They took two seperate quotes and combined them using the "..." trick. Taking those two comments and splicing them together while deleting what was in the middle made him sound like gloom and doom!! He was appalled. He demanded an apology...but nothing.

[Geovani]

I decided to stop following the news about a month and a half ago, after feeling particularly sad with a story that was being covered by the mainstream media here in Brazil that ended in tragedy. Actually, this was not the only reason – the news was constantly making me feel unhappy and insecure while adding nothing of real value, so what's the point?

One thing I realized is that news is not information; news is more "entertainment" than anything else, like a real-life thriller with lots of drama. And a really repetitive one, that says the same thing over and over again, only with slightly different details and characters from time to time.

[Ebinesos]

The Revolution Will not be Televised

I miss the election. Right after we were back to "4 dead in icey car wreck"
Pro: Brings awareness to changing weather conditions, be warned
Con: I will be seeing that same headline repeatedly.

[Barcs]

Yes, I got my media fill for this year during election time. Usually this is the only time when I follow the media. I definitely agree that fasting from it opens up the mind.