More and more people are tuning the news out: 'Now I don't have that anxiety

Personal News Avoidance & Mental Health

• Many commenters report sharply reducing or cutting news/social media since ~2024–25, with big improvements in anxiety, mood, and productivity.
• Common strategies:
  • Time-limiting apps (Screen Time, LeechBlock, “anti‑pomodoro” timers).
  • Text‑only or “lite” feeds (NPR text, BBC short bulletins, Economist/FT briefs, CNN/CBC lite, text TV).
  • RSS and custom feeds (self‑hosted readers, filters that scrub certain topics, services like Kagi, Newsminimalist, Tapestry).
• Several keep a “minimal pulse”: skim headlines, then do focused research only around elections or directly relevant topics (industry rules, local issues).

Outrage, Agency, and Guilt

• Strong debate on whether tuning out is responsible:
  • One side says nonstop doomerism is paralyzing and mostly fuels ad revenue; focus instead on local politics, volunteering, unions, and concrete help to people nearby.
  • Others argue opting out is a privilege: authoritarian threats, culture‑war policies, or wars hit some groups directly, who feel they cannot look away.
  • Historical analogies to Germans after 1945 are used to argue that “we didn’t know” is not an excuse.
• Disagreement over whether practical outlets exist: suggestions range from working to elect opposition parties, doing local organizing, and donating, to hard nihilism: “there is nothing to be done.”

Propaganda, Disinformation, and Trust

• Several threads discuss propaganda theory (Arendt, Ellul, Soviet “dezinformatsiya”):
  • Goal is often not belief but exhaustion—getting people to give up on finding truth.
  • Endless “firehose of falsehoods” makes updating beliefs dangerous; some argue one must sometimes “refuse to learn” from bad information.
  • Concern that objective reality is eroding; loss of a shared truth is seen as especially dangerous for democracy.
• Widespread distrust of mainstream media (including the article’s outlet): complaints about sensationalism, narrative‑driven reporting, and partisan framing from both left and right perspectives.
• Others emphasize that all outlets have biases; the answer is curation, cross‑checking multiple ideologically different sources, and better civic education.

News as Entertainment vs Civic Duty

• Many frame most news as entertainment or “outrage porn” with negligible effect on their actions; they’d rather read books, work, or focus on family and local community.
• Critics call this complacent and privileged, arguing that voting, staying informed enough to counter family/friend misinformation, and modest activism are the “adult” minimum.
• Some propose compromise: avoid continuous feeds, but do periodic deep dives (e.g., before elections) and emphasize high‑signal local reporting over distant national drama.