Happy Monday! Here’s What’s Going On In The World

News is bad for your health. It leads to fear and aggression, and hinders your creativity and ability to think deeply. The solution? Stop consuming it altogether.

You wake up, brush your teeth, turn on the t.v and pour youself a cup a coffee. You rush through some cereal and run to the shower. You get dressed, you do your makeup, hair or tie your tie etc. All of this while you listen to your  favorite t.v  news station. By the time you leave off to work, you have sucked all the negativity and sad vibes from all the morning media. Well, that can’t be good.

In the past few decades, the fortunate among us have recognised the hazards of living with an overabundance of food (obesity, diabetes) and have started to change our diets. But most of us do not yet understand that news is to the mind what sugar is to the body. News is easy to digest. The media feeds us small bites of trivial matter, tidbits that don’t really concern our lives and don’t require thinking. That’s why we experience almost no saturation. Unlike reading books and long magazine articles (which require thinking), we can swallow limitless quantities of news flashes, which are bright-coloured candies for the mind. Today, we have reached the same point in relation to information that we faced 20 years ago in regard to food. We are beginning to recognise how toxic news can be.

I – as a soon to be psychologist – understand that society needs journalism but in a different way. Investigative journalism is always relevant. We need true reporting, facts that will make us WANT to be part of this underdeveloped society.

News:

Mislead.

Lose explanatory power.

Increase cognitive errors.

Inhibit thinking.

Have a drug-like effect..

Mostly wastes your precious time.

Make us passive.

Kill creativity.

Now hold on, I’m not saying news will get you to hell. But I’m pretty sure heaven is far off too. All I’m saying is pay better attention to the content you’re letting in. The abundance of negatvity and stress can’t and won’t ever lead to something good.

Less of the bad translates to less disruption, less anxiety, deeper thinking, more time, more insights. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.

Get a great source to read regarding stress triggered by T.V effects RIGHT HERE.

But not to worry people, a new post is coming up and it’s all about dealing with stress. So stay tuned!

Am I being to harsh, am I right? You be the judge. Do comment below and share every single thought inside that – well balanced, unstressed-  mind of yours.

Image credit: timessquarenyc.org