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Abstract

ive. It sets the scene and casts the characters. They report on something unbelievable in a believable way. Like a magician, they deceive and distract us from what’s happening right in front of us.</p><h1 id="a4df">How Do They Do This?</h1><p id="20a0">They influence our belief system. If someone tells us something enough, we start to believe it, regardless of how absurd it is.</p><div id="9b9b" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/we-do-not-see-things-as-they-are-we-see-things-as-we-are-6284f41b8a2e"> <div> <div> <h2>We Do Not See Things as They Are, We See Things as We Are.</h2> <div><h3>Seven ways to avoid the narrative and see a situation for what it really is.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*2RdfimeWaFU2lsGSgWVViw.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="a142">We know this because it’s the reason for so many people claiming to have an ‘informed’ opinion on something they know so little about.</p><p id="6b7f">The reality is, if it’s only their favourite news channel or radio station that they’re basing the information on, it’s likely to be a lopsided perspective. It’s the reason why the same event can have two (or more) completely different versions told.</p><p id="b633">Our pre-existing beliefs and internal stories determine how we will react, and report on the situation at hand.</p><h1 id="ca46">False Identity</h1><p id="7823">Our real-life experiences have shaped us throughout the years, and the news acts as one of these experiences. When we repeatedly see or hear about what’s supposedly happening, we start to imagine these things as if it happened to us personally.</p><p id="669c">The media manipulates our thinking so that we start to believe that what’s said is the truth. Remember:</p><blockquote id="abe6"><p><b><i>“Truth and news are not the same things” — Katharine Graham</i></b></p></blockquote><h1 id="7f33">A 30-Day Challenge</h1><p id="ddc1">To illustrate my point, I want to set you a challenge.</p><p

Options

id="5e3b">I want you to go 30 days without watching or listening to the news — yes, I’d still like you to do it knowing your bang in the centre of a global pandemic. I guarantee you won’t miss a thing.</p><p id="ec42">I want you to notice how your world managed to continue without the news.</p><p id="cb04">Now, if you decide on Day 31 that you’re going to binge on the news channels, that’s fine. I’m pretty confident you’ll still see the same kind of stories as Day Zero. You’ll have picked up on the need to know stuff and avoided the fluff just by living your life. For you, it’s a Win-Win.</p><p id="0335">After you’ve had your fix, I’d be keen to know if you feel any more informed or less out of the loop than you were previously? My guess is not really.</p><p id="a29d">If anything I imagine you felt a bit dirty afterwards. You saw right through what was happening, and you realised that there was an awful lot of negativity and villain creation going on. You saw how the magician did his trick.</p><h1 id="b7ef">Final Thoughts</h1><p id="acfd">I’m a confessed optimist, and I think this comes in part because I limit negative interactions, including the news.</p><p id="ca25">It’s a scary thought at first but try the challenge above and I’d be surprised if you ever went back.</p><p id="144d">We think we need the news. We don’t. The news needs us, that’s all.</p><p id="b924">I haven’t watched it properly in years. I’ve seen it as I pass between rooms and I’ve seen headlines, and that gives me all of the information I need.</p><p id="1c9b">I don’t feel like I miss out because I know I’ll hear about anything that will affect me directly.</p><p id="da64">I get how this sounds a bit selfish, but it’s not. By not being influenced by someone’s reporting — a person who I don’t know personally after all — I can form my own opinions.</p><p id="e787">I’ll do my research and develop my own beliefs, and if anything, I like to think this gives me a purer perspective.</p><h1 id="f906">Before You Go</h1><p id="e941">Thanks for being here. I’d love to keep in touch so <a href="http://eepurl.com/gRHpsf">join my mailing list</a> now for semi-regular e-mails about what’s been occupying my mind over recent weeks.</p></article></body>

Why I Ditched the News, and Why You Should Too

…even in the midst of a global pandemic.

Whenever I tell people that I don’t watch or listen to the news, they always do this kind of double-take. Almost, as if they assume, they must have misheard me. But no, they didn’t, I don’t.

I never read the newspaper, and I rarely read the news online. I read a lot, just not normally the news. Instead, I listen to others and find out what I need to know by stepping out into the real world.

I don’t miss out on anything, and I don’t feel like I suffer in any way because of my choices.

What the News Really Is

We’re lead to believe that the news keeps us informed, but I’m going to let you into a secret. News is gossip; it’s just packaged differently.

It can be entertaining, but it’s not generally helpful. It doesn’t keep us informed; I’d argue it often makes us ill-informed.

The news supposedly brings us the truth, but it doesn’t, it brings us an opinion, and that’s all. We have to remember that the news can’t be impartial. The stories whether on TV, Radio or in print, promote controversy because the media outlets know that this is what sells.

It’s supposed to cause tension and stoke a reaction, and it meets its objective, time and time again.

Malcolm X once said:

“The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.”

You see, what the news outlets and media are experts at is creating a narrative. It sets the scene and casts the characters. They report on something unbelievable in a believable way. Like a magician, they deceive and distract us from what’s happening right in front of us.

How Do They Do This?

They influence our belief system. If someone tells us something enough, we start to believe it, regardless of how absurd it is.

We Do Not See Things as They Are, We See Things as We Are.

Seven ways to avoid the narrative and see a situation for what it really is.

medium.com

We know this because it’s the reason for so many people claiming to have an ‘informed’ opinion on something they know so little about.

The reality is, if it’s only their favourite news channel or radio station that they’re basing the information on, it’s likely to be a lopsided perspective. It’s the reason why the same event can have two (or more) completely different versions told.

Our pre-existing beliefs and internal stories determine how we will react, and report on the situation at hand.

False Identity

Our real-life experiences have shaped us throughout the years, and the news acts as one of these experiences. When we repeatedly see or hear about what’s supposedly happening, we start to imagine these things as if it happened to us personally.

The media manipulates our thinking so that we start to believe that what’s said is the truth. Remember:

“Truth and news are not the same things” — Katharine Graham

A 30-Day Challenge

To illustrate my point, I want to set you a challenge.

I want you to go 30 days without watching or listening to the news — yes, I’d still like you to do it knowing your bang in the centre of a global pandemic. I guarantee you won’t miss a thing.

I want you to notice how your world managed to continue without the news.

Now, if you decide on Day 31 that you’re going to binge on the news channels, that’s fine. I’m pretty confident you’ll still see the same kind of stories as Day Zero. You’ll have picked up on the need to know stuff and avoided the fluff just by living your life. For you, it’s a Win-Win.

After you’ve had your fix, I’d be keen to know if you feel any more informed or less out of the loop than you were previously? My guess is not really.

If anything I imagine you felt a bit dirty afterwards. You saw right through what was happening, and you realised that there was an awful lot of negativity and villain creation going on. You saw how the magician did his trick.

Final Thoughts

I’m a confessed optimist, and I think this comes in part because I limit negative interactions, including the news.

It’s a scary thought at first but try the challenge above and I’d be surprised if you ever went back.

We think we need the news. We don’t. The news needs us, that’s all.

I haven’t watched it properly in years. I’ve seen it as I pass between rooms and I’ve seen headlines, and that gives me all of the information I need.

I don’t feel like I miss out because I know I’ll hear about anything that will affect me directly.

I get how this sounds a bit selfish, but it’s not. By not being influenced by someone’s reporting — a person who I don’t know personally after all — I can form my own opinions.

I’ll do my research and develop my own beliefs, and if anything, I like to think this gives me a purer perspective.

Before You Go

Thanks for being here. I’d love to keep in touch so join my mailing list now for semi-regular e-mails about what’s been occupying my mind over recent weeks.