The fear mongering news cycle is so obvious, but it works every time.
- The media decide to rally behind something that will trigger fear in us (i.e a there is a risk that a shortage of lorry drivers may cause some petrol shortages)
- The media sensationalise the story with the goal of selling papers or getting clicks (i.e we’re going to run out of petrol and we’ll all be screwed)
- A minority of people panic, react and do stupid things (immediately rush to drive to the petrol station to fill up their cars, petrol cans etc.)
- This behaviour actually causes the sensational story that the media were responsible for to come true (so they look like they were right AND they sell even more papers and get more clicks as they continue to cover it)
- Everything goes back to normal and settles down. We forget about it and move on.
- Repeat
It’s depressing that our media and news system is so broken. It’s one sensational story after another with either an agenda or simply the goal of stirring us up to sell more papers and get more clicks.
Life is much better when you ignore the news. You won’t become ignorant and you won’t miss out on anything that actually makes a difference to your life. You’ll just shut away the noise so you can focus on the things that matter in your life.
I’m not perfect at ignoring the news. I used to be, but the COVID Pandemic pulled me back into a bad habit of checking the news every day. Whilst I’m not part of the group that panics and reacts, I’m still exposing myself to unnecessary noise. So, I’m going to make a big effort from today to let go of my daily checking the news habit.
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