Mainstream news is toxic. It floods our brain with bad news, constantly.
Everything on The News is negative. Every so often, they will shine the light on someone who is making something positive out of a negative situation. Being positive about something negative doesn’t change the fact that it’s still negative.
Think about it. What makes the headlines? It’s typically the homicides, rapes, plane crashes, terrorism, robberies, etc. It’s enough to make us feel terrible about life. It’s enough to make us paranoid and live in constant fear of the unknown. It shows us just how dangerous the world can be.
For some reason, people are entertained by The News and that’s why the media keeps producing it — it sells. It’s no different than tuning into your favorite sitcom or reality TV show. Though the events are real, it’s less close to your reality than you might think. How can the misfortune of others be that entertaining?
What do you gain by watching The News and what is the takeaway? Life would continue to happen if you chose not to tune in. For example, bad neighborhoods will remain bad neighborhoods, circumstances and situations will continue to be the same, not unless you plan on doing something positive to make a change.
When you stop being constantly reminded about all the negative stuff going on in the world, you feel better about life.
It is good to keep up with vital information that may affect you personally. It’s good to know if there is a flash flood or tornado warning in your area. But overall, we should reduce negative messages we receive through media outlets whenever necessary.
The News is a business (just like wrestling). However, to thrive as a business, TV news must perpetuate a climate of constant crisis. In order to keep you tuned in, news networks focus on crisis stories, where situations are rapidly developing. Violent conflicts, natural disasters, disease outbreaks, political scandals and all make for great TV.
The News, within itself, thrives on fear, panic and divisiveness. The more afraid people are, the more news they watch. The formula is pretty simple. After giving it some thought, here is something I find interesting.
We aren’t critically evaluating the information we receive on TV. We aren’t being told about what matters most. We are being manipulated to place an excessively high priority on relatively minor problems and to think about those problems in a highly emotional and non-constructive way.
As of lately, CNN should stand for Continual Negative News. It would be great if there was a GNN or Good News Network, where everything reported was positive, educational and enlightening. That would be something worth watching.
In the meantime, get outside and enjoy some fresh air. Read a book. Do some traveling. Spend more quality time with your family and friends. Free yourself from negativity. Quit watching The News.
