Is the News making us turn on one and another?

[Shawn Gossman]

So about two or three months ago, I decided to remove all the news feeds from my phone. I already quit watching TV years ago so I never watch the news.

I occasionally check out the local news website to see local stories that are positive. If I see a negative story, I quickly scroll past it.

I got to admit, I think it has made me less stressed. I mean before when I watched it, because it was usually so biased and one-sided (either side!), it would make me mad. It would make me dislike my fellow human being because of their views and opinions. It kind of made it miserable.

I don't think politics is creating this significant division we are seeing (worldwide), I think its the news.

What do you think? Have any of you disabled news feeds at all?

 

[Duskpire]

I got to admit, I think it has made me less stressed. I mean before when I watched it, because it was usually so biased and one-sided (either side!), it would make me mad. It would make me dislike my fellow human being because of their views and opinions. It kind of made it miserable. I don't think politics is creating this significant division we are seeing (worldwide), I think its the news.

I see where you're coming. I too feel like the media in America makes things worse. There's a lot of reporters that like to use sophistry and insert their own opinions which I'd rather not hear because not 100% of what they're saying is a fact when they "suggest" what they think to the audience. I do think they spread fear and anger like they did when the Covid pandemic was going on.

They certainly don't help anything.

 

[Demon_skeith]

The only news I read is gaming, anime and tech related and seems to keep clean. If anything big happens, I'll see it pop up in some odd place.

 

[Grungie]

A lot of news sites spend more time pandering to their audience instead of just telling the news. The only difference between Fox News and Buzzfeed is their political bias.

 

[Uncrowned]

Overall I find US-based news media to be FAR too political. There are many times that the same article is posted so differently by multiple sources that it is essentially multiple completely different stories by the time it is read by the end-users.

Plus they profit from the hype and "end of the world" style news reporting which just makes little issues explode out of control. So you end up with a politically fueled reporting style that presents the news in an over-the-top manner, there is no way this does not cause misinformation and people to take sides.

 

[KO896]

Every news source in America has a slant to it. Every single one!

It used to be we could turn on the tv and get the news without being swayed to one side or other other.

Today we get news like, today politician A, who committed an indecent act in his bedroom as a teenager withouth his mom knowing, went on vacation. This politician, who spoke out against dogs without fur last year, unfairly crossed the sidewalk while the light was blinking.

It's that kind of ridiculous we have to endure. True journalists should be ashamed of the news media today and there are some who lament it but others are too stuck in their opinions to see how harmful they have become.

Here's my beef...if I know a journalist's political beliefs, he/she is doing it wrong.

As for whether the news is making us turn against one another...absolutely! Because there are people who instantly buy into whatever the news is telling us without waiting to see if it's actual truth, then they begin attacking their friends and relatives on social media. There are things the media gets wrong but people still believe it's true and aren't very kind to others because of fear or frustration.

If we had a true news source with the basics of journalism, our country would fare better.

 

[simonweb]

Of course, life is better when you live in total ignorance and don't have to face the problems of our world. Ignorance is bliss and all that.

 

[Jayson]

The news is massively depressing. All you here about is murder, child molestation/abuse, war, inflation. Well, for a long time I never watched the news, but lately have a local news station's Facebook feed on my timeline.

 

[Mocha]

Yeah, absolutely. I feel like a lot of news outlets always report news with a spin on it. Rather than reporting the facts, what could often be seen as boring, they always have a narrative to take.

 

[Shavkat]

During the pandemic, it is my choice to stop watching news and even from the internet. It is just this year that I need because my Japanese students are learning something about daily news.