I’ve been pretty sick for the last week. The stress, the cold, it got to me. Today was probably the worst of it. So I spent a lot of the day on Facebook while wrapped in a blanket – learning about the recent world news through people’s posts. And well, the news are pretty bad.
And I don’t mean that the news are only about bad things lately. Yes, we are possibly on the brink of a war with Iran. And that the world in general is looking pretty glum. That may be a part of it. But in a bigger, broader sense. The news are pretty bad.
As I read through my wall, thanks to Facebook’s “magic” it all starts to blend. One big soup of info, hype, sales and fear. Are you using these hidden diet secrets? Are you concerned about fires in Australia? Do you have a passive income plan? Do you have an opinion on Iran? Have you seen this reclusive millionaire’s stock market predictions? You are exercising all wrong! Ilhan Omar?!?! New career boosting course. Trump. The Tesla truck. Putin. Vegan gluten free truffles. Impeachment. Spirulina. Crumbling infrastructure. Antisemitism.
It all feels like click bait. The titles. The flow. It all blends eventually into a brain numbing soup. Because click bait works. And click bait sells. And learning from what worked was how news papers stayed alive. But somehow it all feels depressive. I read it. And I don’t know what to do with it. I feel like I am just consuming bad news because that’s what you do as a responsible citizen. Democracy dies in darkness? Ok then. Bring on the daily death soup. I will do my part for my country.
I majored in Political Science. Politics do not scare me. I understand their importance. I respect the power of public opinion. I know I am in a small way a part of that opinion as well. And yet, if I read through my Facebook wall for longer than an hour I want to crawl under my bed and wail for a bit. Because everything sucks too deeply, and it all seems like to much to fix and undo. I don’t feel empowered to action, instead I want to never think about it again. Fine. Fine. I’ll vote. I’ll be angry. I’ll hate the right people. Anything to make it stop.
It just feels like at some point we crossed the line from being informed to self-flagellation. News reading, or news watching, has become some sort of ritual masochistic thing that we do to remain informed about the things that are terrible in our country and the world, and that we will most likely do nothing about. Maybe we’ll vote. Maybe we wont fall for the same crap we said we would not fall for 10 years ago. Maybe. .
Whats the solution? The Daily Show approach? News and comedy mixed to keep you paying attention without feeling sad? Do we become more callous and wait for the truly outrageous to spur us into action? Or only follow the good news? Avoid the news altogether? Join the revolution? Support Yang? Leave it for God to sort out?
I don’t know. But this social media, clickbaterey blend seems so broken. Left wing. Right wing. Does anyone actually like it? Why are we all doing this? What are we getting out of it? Is it different in Denmark? New Zealand? Is their social media less depressing? Are their Facebook walls about baby pictures, wedding announcements, and uplifting news about responsible politicians?
But I am not in Denmark. So I’ve been mostly avoiding the news. I focus on self-growth because I don’t know what to do about the world. All the brokenness feels too much. And fixing myself seems like something that I can actually accomplish by comparison. And its selfish. And its part of the problem. But thats where I am.
I’ll still self-flagellate often enough. Because its important. Because its bad to be ignorant. And because Facebook is great for killing time, and I mindlessly keep scrolling through my wall when I’m afraid and procrastinating. But lately, more and more, those habits look less like good citizenship, and more like an addiction. And not a “useful” addiction like exercising. No… more like chewing tobacco. We chew. We spit. We repeat. It might stain your teeth. It might give you mouth cancer. But it sure does pass the time…